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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mine — for digging
  3. club — for golf
  4. court — for sport
  5. content — the amount
  6. court — of law
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. content — happy
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. court — of a king
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cell — a phone
  15. lean — thin
  16. bark — to shout
  17. cell — in biology
  18. lean — to bend
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. club — for dancing
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. club — a group
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. mine — belonging to me

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