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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. date — the fruit
  6. pit — in a race
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. content — happy
  13. pit — a hole
  14. court — of a king
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. content — the amount
  17. cold — not warm
  18. court — of law
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. object — an aim
  22. object — a thing
  23. object — to protest
  24. content — videos and posts

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