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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. content — happy
  3. dip — to sink
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mark — a grade
  6. bound — certain
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. content — the amount
  10. court — of a king
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a music group
  14. bound — tied together
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bound — obliged
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. mark — a trace
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of law

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