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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. last — to go on
  5. march — the month
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. last — final
  8. spell — letters
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. spell — a short time
  13. last — finally
  14. pitch — completely
  15. court — of a king
  16. spell — magic
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. march — the month
  19. content — happy
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — a permit
  22. march — music
  23. drill — the tool
  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