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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — of law
  5. chair — a leader
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. content — the amount
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. land — to come down
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. tear — from crying
  16. land — a country
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — ground
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. mouse — the animal

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