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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. court — for sport
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. march — the month
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. march — the month
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. court — of a king
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. hand — in cards
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. march — music
  19. content — happy
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. court — of law
  22. vault — a safe
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. hand — help

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