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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. capital — a city
  3. snap — to click
  4. court — of a king
  5. ground — the earth
  6. content — the amount
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. court — of law
  9. capital — money
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bore — to tire
  12. roll — a list
  13. object — to protest
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ground — a position
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bore — to drill
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — an aim
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. content — happy
  24. roll — a cake

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