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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 116 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mate — to breed
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. court — of law
  6. content — the amount
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rule — a law
  9. mate — a partner
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. mate — a friend
  12. content — happy
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. hand — help
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — to come from
  19. wax — to grow
  20. court — of a king
  21. rule — government
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. hide — to keep secret

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