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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. court — of law
  3. content — happy
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. clip — for paper
  6. court — for sport
  7. content — the amount
  8. bank — for money
  9. object — to protest
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — low music
  12. object — an aim
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. clip — a video
  16. object — a thing
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bank — of a river
  19. lie — to recline
  20. bank — for money
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. clip — to cut
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. court — of a king

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