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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. cell — in biology
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. season — of the year
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. season — in sport
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. content — the amount
  15. court — of a king
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. content — happy

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