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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 120 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. rash — hasty
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. file — a tool
  11. rash — a series
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. file — a line of people
  16. court — of a king
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. mine — for digging
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  24. file — a document

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