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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. court — of law
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. court — of a king
  6. current — of water
  7. cell — in biology
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. current — happening now
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. toast — bread
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — happy
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. cell — a phone
  18. spell — a short time
  19. current — electric
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. court — for sport
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bat — the animal

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