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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. scale — size or range
  3. court — for sport
  4. bear — the animal
  5. band — a music group
  6. present — a gift
  7. content — happy
  8. band — a ring
  9. scale — in music
  10. mate — a friend
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. court — of a king
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. content — the amount
  20. bear — the animal
  21. court — of law
  22. present — there
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. present — the time now

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