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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. content — the amount
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. row — a line
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. court — of law
  9. roll — a list
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. roll — a cake
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. court — of a king
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. court — for sport
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. pound — a weight
  21. content — happy
  22. mine — for digging
  23. row — to paddle
  24. 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