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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: drill · cue · cell · kick · wound · press · content · march

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. drill — army training
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cue — a hint
  6. march — the month
  7. content — happy
  8. march — music
  9. press — to push
  10. cue — a signal
  11. march — the month
  12. drill — the tool
  13. press — a publisher
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. drill — a practice
  16. content — the amount
  17. kick — in football
  18. cue — for pool
  19. wound — an injury
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. press — newspapers
  24. wound — an injury

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