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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. court — for sport
  5. content — the amount
  6. tear — to rip
  7. stock — goods
  8. firm — a company
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. degree — temperature
  11. firm — decided
  12. court — of law
  13. content — happy
  14. degree — from a university
  15. firm — steady
  16. bass — low music
  17. degree — an amount
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stock — shares
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bass — the fish

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