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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pop — music
  3. court — for sport
  4. charge — electricity
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rock — music
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. court — of a king
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. sharp — clever
  13. content — happy
  14. game — wild animals
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. content — the amount
  18. charge — in control
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. pop — soda
  22. charge — a price
  23. court — of law
  24. game — a match

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