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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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Word bank
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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: mouse · hand · content · bound · capital · drill · kid · cue

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. bound — certain
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. bound — tied together
  5. capital — a city
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cue — a hint
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. content — happy
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cue — for pool
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. drill — the tool
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. drill — army training
  17. kid — to tease
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. drill — a practice
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bound — obliged
  22. content — the amount
  23. capital — money
  24. hand — help

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