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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. content — happy
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. tube — the underground
  8. mark — a trace
  9. tube — a container
  10. squash — the sport
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. court — for sport
  14. mark — a grade
  15. court — of law
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bore — to drill
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. squash — to crush
  24. content — the amount

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