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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: last · game · drill · toast · court · wind · content · saw

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wind — moving air
  3. drill — army training
  4. drill — a practice
  5. court — of law
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — to go on
  8. content — happy
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. toast — bread
  11. drill — the tool
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. saw — the tool
  15. content — the amount
  16. last — final
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a match
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. saw — the tool
  23. court — for sport
  24. last — finally

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