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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 · kid · chip · pitcher · content · bear · mine · last

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. kid — child
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. content — happy
  6. chip — for betting
  7. content — the amount
  8. cue — a signal
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cue — for pool
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. mine — for digging
  14. last — finally
  15. chip — to eat
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bear — the animal
  19. kid — to tease
  20. last — final
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. last — to go on
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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