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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 will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. net — for catching
  4. bear — the animal
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pit — a hole
  8. cold — not warm
  9. suit — clothes
  10. suit — in cards
  11. game — a match
  12. court — for sport
  13. game — wild animals
  14. court — of law
  15. net — after costs
  16. court — of a king
  17. content — happy
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. bear — the animal
  21. cold — an illness
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. net — in sport

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