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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. spell — letters
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. court — of law
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. suit — in cards
  9. pop — to visit
  10. suit — to fit
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. content — the amount
  14. court — for sport
  15. content — happy
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — magic
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. suit — clothes
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. court — of a king
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pop — music

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