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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. content — the amount
  3. court — of a king
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. bat — the animal
  7. foot — a measure
  8. saw — the tool
  9. court — of law
  10. saw — the tool
  11. content — happy
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. pop — music
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. pop — to visit
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. court — for sport

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