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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. spring — the season
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. court — of law
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. content — the amount
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — goods
  10. wax — to grow
  11. mug — to rob
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. rule — government
  16. court — for sport
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. content — happy
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. mug — a face
  21. mug — a cup
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. straw — a straw man

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