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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. squash — the sport
  5. court — for sport
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bound — tied together
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bound — certain
  10. pass — a permit
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. drill — army training
  13. squash — to crush
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. content — the amount
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. content — happy
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. drill — the tool

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