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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. march — music
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. court — of law
  7. bound — certain
  8. snap — to click
  9. rest — what's left
  10. march — the month
  11. bound — tied together
  12. lean — thin
  13. march — the month
  14. lean — to bend
  15. bound — obliged
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — to come from
  18. content — happy
  19. rest — a break
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rest — what's left
  24. stem — of a plant

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