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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. content — happy
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. rash — hasty
  5. court — of law
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. roll — a cake
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. court — for sport
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. rash — a series
  14. chair — a leader
  15. dip — to sink
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. content — the amount
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. branch — a division
  23. roll — a list
  24. stand — for spectators

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