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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: content · cue · march · chest · swing · foot · mine · land

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. cue — for pool
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. content — the amount
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. land — a country
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. march — music
  10. foot — a measure
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cue — a signal
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mine — for digging
  19. swing — to play on
  20. content — happy
  21. cue — a hint
  22. swing — music
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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