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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wind — moving air
  6. court — for sport
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. ground — the earth
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. content — happy
  11. fine — all right
  12. court — of law
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. fine — high quality
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ground — a position
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. content — the amount
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. court — of a king

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