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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. net — after costs
  8. chip — to eat
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. content — happy
  11. staff — employees
  12. court — of a king
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. content — the amount
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. chip — for betting
  17. wind — moving air
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. court — of law

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