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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: rest · content · patient · cue · file · band · racket · kid

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. cue — for pool
  4. kid — to tease
  5. file — a line of people
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. file — a document
  8. kid — child
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cue — a signal
  11. content — happy
  12. band — a ring
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. rest — a break
  15. band — a music group
  16. rest — what's left
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. rest — what's left
  22. file — a tool
  23. cue — a hint
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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