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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. fall — to drop
  3. current — happening now
  4. content — the amount
  5. court — of law
  6. shower — to wash
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. rock — a stone
  10. content — happy
  11. court — of a king
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. lean — to bend
  15. rock — music
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. fall — the season
  18. current — of water
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. shower — rain
  21. lean — thin
  22. current — electric
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. fall — to drop

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