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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: wake · tear · cue · row · content · key · perch · mate

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. key — for a lock
  4. cue — a hint
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. key — the most important part
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wake — a trail
  9. tear — from crying
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. mate — a friend
  13. tear — to rip
  14. key — in music
  15. tear — from crying
  16. row — a line
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a signal
  21. perch — the fish
  22. content — happy
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — to breed

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