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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. content — happy
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — a series
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — a container
  10. content — the amount
  11. court — of a king
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. court — of law
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — a football final

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