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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. court — of a king
  3. key — the most important part
  4. wind — moving air
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. court — of law
  8. key — in music
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — in sport
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — the tool
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. key — for a lock
  16. cap — of ice
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. cap — a lid
  20. foot — a measure
  21. wind — moving air
  22. net — after costs
  23. cap — a hat
  24. court — for sport

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