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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. drill — a practice
  3. stand — to bear
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. court — of law
  7. drill — army training
  8. game — a match
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. court — of a king
  12. season — of the year
  13. content — the amount
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rock — music
  17. content — happy
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. season — in sport
  21. rock — a stone
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. drill — the tool
  24. season — to add flavour

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