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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. cue — a hint
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. cue — a signal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. spring — a coil
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. band — a ring
  9. fork — in a road
  10. capital — a city
  11. spring — the season
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. capital — money
  14. cue — for pool
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. band — a music group
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. content — happy
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. content — the amount
  23. spring — of water
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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