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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 116 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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. ground — a position
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. ball — a great time
  5. content — the amount
  6. ground — the earth
  7. club — for dancing
  8. ground — crushed
  9. club — a group
  10. net — for catching
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. court — of law
  13. club — for golf
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. ball — a dance
  17. cap — of ice
  18. court — of a king
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — a hat
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. content — happy
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. trunk — of a tree

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