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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. content — happy
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. rest — what's left
  6. court — for sport
  7. content — the amount
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. bat — the animal
  13. court — of a king
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. can — a tin
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. can — a tin
  20. mine — for digging
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. court — of law
  23. bear — the animal
  24. deal — a big deal

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