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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. craft — boats
  5. content — happy
  6. scale — in music
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. scale — size or range
  9. content — the amount
  10. season — of the year
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mark — a trace
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. craft — a skill
  22. season — in sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. scale — for weighing

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