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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. pop — to visit
  3. content — the amount
  4. court — of a king
  5. kid — child
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. ground — a position
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. content — happy
  11. stem — to come from
  12. pop — soda
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. ground — crushed
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pop — music
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — a division
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. court — of law
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. court — for sport

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