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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: tear · suit · court · wind · bear · pop · content · net

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. pop — to visit
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. court — of law
  5. suit — to fit
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. content — happy
  8. suit — clothes
  9. court — of a king
  10. content — the amount
  11. net — for catching
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wind — moving air
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bear — the animal
  17. net — after costs
  18. suit — in cards
  19. pop — music
  20. wind — moving air
  21. net — in sport
  22. pop — soda
  23. tear — from crying
  24. court — for sport

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