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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. toast — bread
  3. saw — the tool
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. content — happy
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. court — of a king
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. squash — to crush
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. court — of law
  15. squash — the sport
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. wind — moving air
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. wind — moving air
  24. content — the amount

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