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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. content — the amount
  3. drill — a practice
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. drill — the tool
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — a price
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. cue — a signal
  10. drill — army training
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. content — happy
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cold — not warm
  15. charge — in control
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ball — a dance
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cue — for pool
  21. ball — a great time
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mine — for digging
  24. jam — in traffic

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