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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. track — a path
  5. track — a song
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. file — a tool
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a dance
  16. file — a document
  17. content — the amount
  18. wake — a trail
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. court — of law
  21. track — to keep track
  22. file — a line of people
  23. content — happy
  24. bat — the animal

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