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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: stick · kid · jam · pop · tube · court · spell · content

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. tube — the underground
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. content — happy
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. tube — a container
  9. court — of a king
  10. pop — soda
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. content — the amount
  13. spell — a short time
  14. court — of law
  15. spell — magic
  16. kid — child
  17. pop — to visit
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. pop — music
  21. spell — letters
  22. court — for sport
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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