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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. scale — in music
  5. content — happy
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. court — of law
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. court — for sport
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. dip — to sink
  16. court — of a king
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — for digging
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. rush — hurry
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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