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

Word bank: perch · cold · staff · wind · club · content · cue · saw

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. staff — a stick
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cue — a hint
  6. club — for dancing
  7. staff — employees
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cue — for pool
  10. club — a group
  11. staff — employees
  12. content — the amount
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wind — moving air
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. cold — an illness
  19. content — happy
  20. perch — the fish
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. club — for golf
  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