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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the fish
  4. foot — a measure
  5. court — of a king
  6. stem — to come from
  7. last — to go on
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. content — the amount
  14. last — final
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. last — finally
  19. court — of law
  20. content — happy
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — for tennis

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