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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: court · chair · content · bay · can · swing · march · bear

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. can — a tin
  3. march — music
  4. court — of a king
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bear — the animal
  8. chair — a leader
  9. swing — music
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. march — the month
  12. can — to be able to
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. content — happy
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. can — a tin
  19. court — for sport
  20. swing — to play on
  21. bear — the animal
  22. court — of law
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. march — the month

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