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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. court — of a king
  3. season — of the year
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — a partner
  6. pit — in a race
  7. ground — the earth
  8. content — happy
  9. bat — the animal
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. season — in sport
  13. content — the amount
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. court — of law
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pit — a hole
  22. mate — to breed
  23. court — for sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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