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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. content — the amount
  3. court — of a king
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. rash — a series
  6. shower — rain
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cap — of ice
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. rash — hasty
  12. court — for sport
  13. cap — a lid
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. cap — a hat
  17. shower — to wash
  18. content — happy
  19. court — of law
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. rash — on the skin

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