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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. court — of a king
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cell — a phone
  9. game — a match
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. court — of law
  14. stand — to bear
  15. content — the amount
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. content — happy
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. court — for sport

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