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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. court — of law
  6. can — a tin
  7. content — happy
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. field — farmland
  10. can — a tin
  11. court — for sport
  12. content — the amount
  13. kid — child
  14. can — to be able to
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. field — a subject
  20. kid — to tease
  21. field — for sport
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pass — a permit

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