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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 120 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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. court — of law
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. court — of a king
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. root — the cause
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. court — for sport
  13. content — the amount
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. root — of a plant
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. dip — to sink
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. root — of a word
  23. pass — a permit
  24. hide — animal skin

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