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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. track — to keep track
  7. rash — hasty
  8. club — a group
  9. track — a path
  10. court — of law
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. club — for golf
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. drill — army training
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. season — of the year
  18. drill — a practice
  19. rash — a series
  20. track — a song
  21. court — for sport
  22. stem — to come from
  23. club — for dancing
  24. drill — the tool

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