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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. land — ground
  3. court — of law
  4. cold — not warm
  5. content — the amount
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. court — of a king
  12. row — a line
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cold — an illness
  15. land — a country
  16. row — to paddle
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. court — for sport
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. content — happy
  24. land — to come down

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