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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. bass — low music
  3. cue — a signal
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. staff — employees
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. cue — a hint
  10. content — the amount
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. staff — a stick
  13. cold — not warm
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cue — for pool
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. content — happy
  24. staff — employees

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