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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 116 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. season — of the year
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. game — a match
  5. mine — for digging
  6. content — happy
  7. game — wild animals
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. pop — to visit
  10. court — for sport
  11. season — in sport
  12. bank — for money
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. court — of a king
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. court — of law
  20. bank — for money
  21. content — the amount
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bank — of a river
  24. pop — soda

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