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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.

Make a worksheet

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: hand · rock · pop · court · mine · can · spring · content

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. content — the amount
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mine — for digging
  5. court — of a king
  6. can — to be able to
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. can — a tin
  9. spring — the season
  10. content — happy
  11. court — of law
  12. hand — help
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pop — music
  17. rock — a stone
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. court — for sport
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. pop — soda
  22. rock — music
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. can — a tin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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