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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. court — of a king
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bound — tied together
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. content — the amount
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. ground — a position
  12. lie — to recline
  13. date — the fruit
  14. court — for sport
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bound — obliged
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bound — certain
  19. content — happy
  20. court — of law
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wake — a trail

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