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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. deal — to handle
  3. object — to protest
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. court — of a king
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rash — hasty
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. content — the amount
  16. object — an aim
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. rash — a series
  19. content — happy
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. row — a line
  22. object — a thing
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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