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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 120 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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  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. bank — for money
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. spring — a coil
  4. kid — child
  5. pop — music
  6. chest — a box
  7. court — of a king
  8. kid — to tease
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chest — of your body
  12. court — for sport
  13. spring — the season
  14. bank — of a river
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pop — to visit
  17. court — of law
  18. content — happy
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pop — soda
  21. spring — of water
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bank — for money
  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