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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 can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. content — happy
  3. roll — a list
  4. game — a match
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. chair — a leader
  7. game — wild animals
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. court — of law
  10. roll — a cake
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. file — a document
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. file — a line of people
  16. charge — a price
  17. court — of a king
  18. charge — in control
  19. charge — electricity
  20. court — for sport
  21. content — the amount
  22. file — a tool
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. pass — to spend time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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