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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cell — in biology
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mine — for digging
  6. chest — of your body
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. content — the amount
  10. court — of a king
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mug — a face
  13. cue — a hint
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cue — for pool
  17. chest — a box
  18. court — for sport
  19. cell — a phone
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cue — a signal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. mug — a cup

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