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

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. stem — to come from
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. court — for sport
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. court — of a king
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. roll — a list
  11. content — happy
  12. court — of law
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. date — the fruit
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. content — the amount

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