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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mate — a friend
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. last — final
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. lie — to recline
  13. last — to go on
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. court — for sport
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. mate — a partner
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. court — of law
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. mate — to breed
  22. last — finally
  23. content — the amount
  24. kid — child

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