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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. content — the amount
  3. rule — a law
  4. court — for sport
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a great time
  7. rest — a break
  8. court — of law
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cap — a lid
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. rest — what's left
  15. content — happy
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cap — of ice
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. court — of a king
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. cell — in biology
  22. rule — government
  23. cap — a hat
  24. ball — a round shape

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