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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. last — final
  3. squash — to crush
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. court — of law
  6. court — of a king
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. court — for sport
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. content — the amount
  21. last — finally
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. last — to go on

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