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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. spring — of water
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. spring — the season
  5. perch — the fish
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — a stone
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. content — the amount
  13. spring — a coil
  14. race — the arms race
  15. lie — to recline
  16. ball — a dance
  17. rock — music
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. race — a contest
  20. ball — a great time
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. race — humankind
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. court — of a king

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