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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. court — of law
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. spring — of water
  5. court — for sport
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — happy
  8. cell — in biology
  9. fine — high quality
  10. spring — the season
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. spring — a coil
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. season — of the year
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. season — in sport
  22. stand — to bear
  23. court — of a king
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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