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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. board — to get on
  3. content — happy
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. net — in sport
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. court — of law
  12. board — a committee
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — after costs
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. fork — in a road
  24. cold — an illness

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