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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. kid — to tease
  3. mark — a grade
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. cell — a phone
  7. court — of a king
  8. content — the amount
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. rush — hurry
  13. cell — in biology
  14. chair — a leader
  15. content — happy
  16. drill — a practice
  17. court — for sport
  18. drill — army training
  19. mark — a trace
  20. kid — child
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. drill — the tool
  24. rush — a thrill

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