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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 120 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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. branch — a division
  3. tube — a container
  4. kid — child
  5. content — happy
  6. tube — the underground
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. cue — for pool
  10. capital — money
  11. cue — a hint
  12. field — for sport
  13. content — the amount
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — to tease
  20. capital — a city
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fan — to cool the air

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