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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. content — happy
  5. mate — a partner
  6. content — the amount
  7. mate — to breed
  8. rock — music
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. file — a tool
  14. court — for sport
  15. game — wild animals
  16. court — of a king
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — a match
  19. rock — a stone
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. mate — a friend
  22. mine — for digging
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. court — of law

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