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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. game — wild animals
  5. stand — to bear
  6. cue — a hint
  7. hand — help
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. cue — a signal
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. content — the amount
  12. foot — a measure
  13. ground — a position
  14. cue — for pool
  15. ground — crushed
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. hand — in cards
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. game — a match
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. ground — the earth
  24. foot — part of the body

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