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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: cue · patient · roll · content · face · chair · kid · bulb

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. kid — child
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bulb — for light
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. content — the amount
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — part of the head
  15. cue — for pool
  16. face — to confront
  17. bulb — for light
  18. roll — a cake
  19. chair — a leader
  20. roll — a list
  21. cue — a hint
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. patient — a sick person

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