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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. court — of a king
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. content — the amount
  5. court — for sport
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. last — final
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. content — happy
  10. court — of law
  11. stand — to bear
  12. pit — a hole
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pit — in a race
  17. last — finally
  18. pit — a fruit stone

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