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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. cue — a hint
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. pound — a weight
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. date — the fruit
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. court — for sport
  9. cue — a signal
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. chest — a box
  12. content — happy
  13. court — of law
  14. staff — employees
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. staff — employees
  17. content — the amount
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. court — of a king
  20. chest — of your body
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. cue — for pool
  24. chest — of your body

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