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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. content — happy
  3. court — of law
  4. fine — all right
  5. perch — the fish
  6. content — the amount
  7. court — for sport
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — to bear
  11. fine — high quality
  12. track — a path
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. clip — to cut
  17. track — to keep track
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. clip — a video
  20. court — of a king
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. track — a song
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. content — videos and posts

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