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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. net — after costs
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. net — in sport
  7. content — happy
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. pop — music
  10. court — for sport
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — a division
  13. track — a song
  14. pop — to visit
  15. track — a path
  16. pop — soda
  17. court — of law
  18. track — to keep track
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. content — the amount
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. net — for catching
  23. stand — to bear
  24. snap — to click

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