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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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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: cue · leaves · game · band · shower · suit · bat · content

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. content — the amount
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. cue — for pool
  7. shower — rain
  8. suit — in cards
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. cue — a signal
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cue — a hint
  13. game — a match
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. suit — to fit
  17. shower — to wash
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. suit — clothes
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. content — happy
  24. content — videos and posts

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