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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. court — of a king
  4. last — to go on
  5. content — happy
  6. band — a music group
  7. court — for sport
  8. band — a ring
  9. last — finally
  10. can — to be able to
  11. vault — a safe
  12. court — of law
  13. swing — music
  14. squash — the sport
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. squash — to crush
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. can — a tin
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. last — final
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. swing — in golf
  23. content — the amount
  24. can — a tin

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