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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. track — a song
  3. track — a path
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. last — final
  6. rush — hurry
  7. last — finally
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cue — a hint
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cue — a signal
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. last — to go on
  16. cue — for pool
  17. track — to keep track
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. content — the amount
  20. chair — a leader
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — happy

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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