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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 120 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. dip — to sink
  5. chip — to eat
  6. content — happy
  7. court — for sport
  8. file — a line of people
  9. chip — for betting
  10. march — music
  11. court — of law
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a hint
  14. file — a tool
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — the amount
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. file — a document
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. fall — the season
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. cue — a signal

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