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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pit — a hole
  3. march — the month
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. content — happy
  6. march — the month
  7. last — final
  8. court — of law
  9. court — of a king
  10. last — finally
  11. last — to go on
  12. march — music
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. content — the amount
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. pit — in a race
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. fan — a supporter

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