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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stand — to bear
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. tube — a container
  7. mate — to breed
  8. club — a group
  9. cold — an illness
  10. content — happy
  11. court — of law
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. craft — boats
  14. tube — the underground
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. court — of a king
  17. mate — a friend
  18. club — for dancing
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. mate — a partner
  21. craft — a skill
  22. club — for golf
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. content — the amount

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