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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. object — an aim
  3. season — of the year
  4. court — of a king
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. mate — a friend
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. court — of law
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mate — a partner
  12. last — finally
  13. season — in sport
  14. spring — of water
  15. object — to protest
  16. spring — a coil
  17. last — final
  18. chest — of your body
  19. last — to go on
  20. court — for sport
  21. spring — the season
  22. content — happy
  23. object — a thing
  24. chest — a box

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