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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 120 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. cue — a signal
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. lie — to recline
  9. clip — for paper
  10. content — happy
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. clip — a video
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. cue — for pool
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cue — a hint
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. clip — to cut
  22. content — the amount
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. patient — a sick person

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