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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. court — of law
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. content — the amount
  5. cue — a signal
  6. last — final
  7. chip — to eat
  8. capital — money
  9. last — to go on
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. net — in sport
  13. cue — for pool
  14. chip — for betting
  15. net — for catching
  16. content — happy
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. net — after costs
  20. cue — a hint
  21. court — for sport
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. court — of a king
  24. trunk — of a car

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