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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rock — music
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — army training
  5. spring — the season
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. court — of law
  8. row — a line
  9. chair — a leader
  10. spring — of water
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. rock — a stone
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. content — the amount
  18. drill — the tool
  19. court — of a king
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. court — for sport
  22. row — to paddle
  23. content — happy
  24. rock — to move gently

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