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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cue — for pool
  3. key — the most important part
  4. press — to push
  5. date — the fruit
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. race — humankind
  8. cue — a signal
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bass — low music
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — in music
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. race — a contest
  17. content — the amount
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. race — the arms race
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bass — the fish
  22. snap — to click
  23. press — a publisher
  24. cue — a hint

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