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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cue — a hint
  3. mate — a friend
  4. cue — a signal
  5. mate — to breed
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. spring — of water
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. mate — a partner
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. track — a song
  13. bark — to shout
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. kid — child
  16. track — a path
  17. kid — to tease
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. content — happy
  20. spring — a coil
  21. track — to keep track
  22. deal — to handle
  23. cue — for pool
  24. spring — the season

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