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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: perch · game · content · face · bay · rest · band · cue

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. perch — the fish
  3. cue — a signal
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. content — the amount
  6. game — wild animals
  7. band — a ring
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. face — to confront
  11. band — a music group
  12. face — part of the head
  13. content — happy
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cue — for pool
  16. face — to point toward
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. game — a match
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cue — a hint
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. rest — a break

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