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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 124 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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. current — happening now
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chest — of your body
  9. court — for sport
  10. cap — of ice
  11. content — happy
  12. cap — a hat
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cap — a lid
  15. object — an aim
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — to protest
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. chest — a box
  21. current — electric
  22. current — of water
  23. prune — to trim
  24. content — the amount

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