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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. content — happy
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bound — certain
  5. craft — boats
  6. court — of a king
  7. bound — obliged
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. field — farmland
  11. bound — tied together
  12. field — a subject
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. field — for sport
  15. rest — a break
  16. mark — a grade
  17. capital — a city
  18. rest — what's left
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. court — for sport
  22. capital — money
  23. craft — a skill
  24. court — of law

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