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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. cue — for pool
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. branch — a division
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. deal — to handle
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. cold — an illness
  12. content — happy
  13. lean — thin
  14. content — the amount
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. cell — a phone
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. lean — to bend
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cell — in biology

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