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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — to be able to
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. vault — a safe
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bound — certain
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pop — music
  14. game — a match
  15. bound — tied together
  16. court — of law
  17. can — a tin
  18. pop — to visit
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. game — wild animals

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