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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. vault — a safe
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. land — ground
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. track — a song
  13. court — of a king
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. land — to come down
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. pass — a permit
  19. content — the amount
  20. track — a path
  21. fork — in a road
  22. land — a country
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. track — to keep track

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