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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.

Make a worksheet

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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of law
  7. content — the amount
  8. cap — a lid
  9. fine — all right
  10. content — happy
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. cap — a hat
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. fine — high quality
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. cap — of ice

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