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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. content — happy
  3. cue — a signal
  4. key — the most important part
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. wax — to grow
  7. cue — a hint
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. content — the amount
  12. key — for a lock
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. key — in music
  19. degree — temperature
  20. game — a match
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — an amount
  24. game — wild animals

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