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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. chip — to eat
  3. cue — for pool
  4. capital — a city
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. field — for sport
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. content — happy
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. wax — to grow
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. field — farmland
  16. capital — money
  17. chip — for betting
  18. field — a subject
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cue — a signal
  21. content — the amount
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. mouse — for a computer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com