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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. court — for sport
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. net — after costs
  8. court — of law
  9. cell — in biology
  10. net — in sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. net — for catching
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rash — hasty
  16. shower — rain
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. content — the amount
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. rash — a series
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. content — happy

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