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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. lash — an eyelash
  2. content — happy
  3. court — for sport
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — a match
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. charge — a price
  10. charge — electricity
  11. roll — a cake
  12. roll — a list
  13. court — of a king
  14. charge — in control
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. content — the amount
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. court — of law
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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