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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. mine — for digging
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. court — of a king
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. band — a ring
  7. season — in sport
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mark — a grade
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. content — the amount
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. band — a music group
  17. mark — a trace
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. court — of law
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. content — happy
  24. court — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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