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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 116 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: straw · content · kid · deal · present · cue · drill · wake

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. kid — to tease
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. present — there
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. drill — a practice
  9. kid — child
  10. cue — a hint
  11. content — happy
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cue — for pool
  14. present — the time now
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. present — a gift
  17. cue — a signal
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. wake — a trail
  21. content — the amount
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. deal — to handle
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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