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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 116 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. content — the amount
  3. staff — employees
  4. court — of a king
  5. bear — the animal
  6. mine — for digging
  7. content — happy
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. staff — employees
  13. bear — the animal
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. squash — the sport
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. squash — to crush

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