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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. sharp — clever
  3. swing — in golf
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. court — of law
  6. pit — in a race
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. land — a country
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. court — of a king
  12. land — to come down
  13. bank — for money
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — to play on
  16. court — for sport
  17. land — ground
  18. dip — to sink
  19. content — happy
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. bank — for money
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. pit — a hole
  24. bank — of a river

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