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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. march — the month
  4. current — of water
  5. hand — in cards
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. march — the month
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. ground — a position
  10. current — electric
  11. court — for sport
  12. pop — soda
  13. ground — crushed
  14. band — a ring
  15. current — happening now
  16. band — a music group
  17. court — of a king
  18. content — the amount
  19. pop — to visit
  20. court — of law
  21. pop — music
  22. march — music
  23. ground — the earth
  24. hand — help

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