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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 120 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: chair · court · content · mug · land · can · deal · tube

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. tube — a container
  6. mug — a face
  7. court — of law
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. can — to be able to
  12. can — a tin
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. tube — the underground
  16. can — a tin
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mug — a cup
  19. court — of a king
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. deal — to handle

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