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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. staff — employees
  5. bulb — for light
  6. court — for sport
  7. content — happy
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. content — the amount
  12. game — a match
  13. staff — employees
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. shower — rain
  16. court — of a king
  17. bulb — for light
  18. rash — hasty
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rule — a law
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. rash — a series
  23. game — wild animals
  24. court — of law

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