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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. court — for sport
  4. snap — to click
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. court — of a king
  8. net — for catching
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. object — an aim
  12. content — the amount
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. net — after costs
  16. object — a thing
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. net — in sport
  23. court — of law
  24. object — to protest

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