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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · wind · content · present · cue · current

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cue — a signal
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wind — moving air
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — there
  8. current — of water
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. content — the amount
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. present — a gift
  14. current — electric
  15. cue — a hint
  16. current — happening now
  17. cue — for pool
  18. chair — a leader

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