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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. foot — a measure
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. court — of law
  8. bark — to shout
  9. content — the amount
  10. march — the month
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. pitch — completely
  13. content — happy
  14. scale — in music
  15. march — music
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. court — for sport
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. march — the month
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. content — videos and posts

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