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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. content — happy
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. roll — a cake
  7. roll — a list
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rock — music
  11. court — of a king
  12. content — the amount
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. court — for sport
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. court — of law
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. rock — a stone
  23. date — the fruit
  24. stem — to come from

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