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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 refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. mug — to rob
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. chest — a box
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. foot — a measure
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. chest — of your body
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. mug — a face
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. squash — the sport
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. chest — of your body

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