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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. game — a match
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. court — for sport
  10. game — wild animals
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — the amount
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pass — a permit
  19. court — of a king
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. content — happy
  23. bear — the animal
  24. ruler — for measuring

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