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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rock — music
  3. content — the amount
  4. march — the month
  5. charge — a price
  6. court — of a king
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. court — of law
  9. band — a ring
  10. charge — electricity
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. content — happy
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rock — a stone
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — to crush
  20. band — a music group
  21. march — the month
  22. charge — in control
  23. court — for sport
  24. march — music

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