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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 a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. rash — a series
  6. content — happy
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. court — for sport
  9. charge — in control
  10. prune — to trim
  11. charge — electricity
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bat — the animal
  14. rash — hasty
  15. charge — a price
  16. hand — help
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. prune — to trim
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. content — the amount
  24. hand — in cards

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