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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 120 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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. content — happy
  3. chest — of your body
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pitch — completely
  6. court — for sport
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. court — of law
  11. chest — a box
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. chair — a leader
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. content — the amount
  23. wake — a trail
  24. court — of a king

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