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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. content — the amount
  3. court — of law
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. game — a match
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. game — wild animals
  11. file — a document
  12. court — of a king
  13. deal — to handle
  14. content — happy
  15. spell — letters
  16. drill — army training
  17. file — a line of people
  18. spell — magic
  19. drill — a practice
  20. spell — a short time
  21. court — for sport
  22. drill — the tool
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. game — a kind of play

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