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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. court — of law
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. bat — the animal
  7. plane — a tool
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. root — the cause
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. bound — certain
  15. root — of a word
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bound — tied together
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bound — obliged
  22. content — happy
  23. content — the amount
  24. jam — in traffic

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