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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. board — to get on
  3. court — for sport
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. last — finally
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. ball — a great time
  9. court — of a king
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. content — happy
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. court — of law
  14. content — the amount
  15. board — a committee
  16. last — to go on
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape

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