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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 116 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. game — wild animals
  3. court — of a king
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. swing — in golf
  6. branch — a division
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. game — a match
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. scale — in music
  12. ball — a great time
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — to play on
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. rest — what's left
  18. scale — size or range
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. content — the amount
  21. court — of law
  22. ball — a dance
  23. court — for sport
  24. branch — of a tree

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