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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  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. content — videos and posts
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — a cup
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. band — a ring
  7. row — to paddle
  8. band — a music group
  9. content — the amount
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bat — the animal
  17. squash — to crush
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. content — happy
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. mug — to rob
  23. squash — the sport
  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