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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. content — the amount
  3. spell — letters
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. rock — a stone
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of law
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chip — for betting
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. degree — an amount
  14. spell — magic
  15. squash — the sport
  16. kid — child
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. content — happy
  20. squash — to crush
  21. kid — to tease
  22. spell — a short time
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. degree — temperature

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