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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. content — the amount
  4. chest — of your body
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. dip — to sink
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. court — of law
  14. board — to get on
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. season — in sport
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. season — of the year
  19. board — a committee
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. content — happy
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. bark — to shout

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