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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  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. staff — employees
  2. court — of a king
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. staff — employees
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. cap — a hat
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. roll — a list
  17. cap — of ice
  18. mine — for digging
  19. staff — a stick
  20. cap — a lid
  21. roll — a cake
  22. content — happy
  23. mine — an explosive
  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