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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. court — for sport
  3. bulb — for light
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. object — an aim
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. court — of law
  9. court — of a king
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — happy
  12. object — to protest
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. object — a thing
  16. bat — the animal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bulb — for light
  21. tear — from crying
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fork — in a road

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