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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. content — the amount
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. court — of law
  6. fine — high quality
  7. spring — the season
  8. content — happy
  9. tube — a container
  10. court — for sport
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — in a race
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. court — of a king
  16. tube — the underground
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. spring — a coil
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. spring — of water
  24. hide — animal skin

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