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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. object — an aim
  4. can — a tin
  5. board — a committee
  6. object — a thing
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. court — of law
  10. can — to be able to
  11. can — a tin
  12. board — to get on
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — happy
  15. content — the amount
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. court — for sport
  18. object — to protest
  19. court — of a king
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — in a road

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