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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. content — the amount
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. club — a group
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. court — for sport
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. mark — a grade
  11. key — the most important part
  12. court — of law
  13. chair — a leader
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. mark — a trace
  17. court — of a king
  18. key — in music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. club — for dancing
  22. shower — rain
  23. club — for golf
  24. snap — to click

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