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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. squash — the sport
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cue — for pool
  6. tear — from crying
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. cue — a hint
  9. squash — to crush
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. content — the amount
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a ring
  15. land — a country
  16. cue — a signal
  17. tear — to rip
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. land — ground
  20. pass — a permit
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. tear — from crying
  24. land — to come down

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