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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mate — to breed
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. court — of a king
  7. mate — a friend
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. saw — the tool
  12. court — for sport
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. shower — rain
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. shower — to wash
  18. content — happy
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. mate — a partner
  21. ball — a dance
  22. court — of law
  23. saw — the tool
  24. ball — a great time

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