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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. spell — magic
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. court — of a king
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. court — of law
  7. spell — letters
  8. field — for sport
  9. content — the amount
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cue — a signal
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cue — for pool
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. court — for sport
  17. rock — music
  18. spell — a short time
  19. field — farmland
  20. mine — for digging
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. field — a subject
  24. rock — a stone

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