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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: cell · current · pit · cue · tear · kick · march · content

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. march — music
  3. current — of water
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cue — for pool
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. current — happening now
  10. current — electric
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cue — a signal
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. kick — in football
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. march — the month
  20. content — the amount
  21. cue — a hint
  22. content — happy
  23. march — the month
  24. cell — in a prison

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