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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 124 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. wind — moving air
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cue — a signal
  7. swing — in golf
  8. cue — a hint
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. cue — for pool
  14. mug — a face
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rash — hasty
  17. content — the amount
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. mug — a cup
  20. mug — to rob
  21. swing — music
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — on the skin

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