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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: game · court · content · row · snap · jam · tube · prune

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. court — of a king
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. content — the amount
  8. game — a match
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. content — happy
  11. tube — the underground
  12. prune — to trim
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. snap — to click
  16. court — for sport
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. row — a line
  19. court — of law
  20. tube — a container
  21. prune — to trim
  22. game — wild animals
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. row — to paddle

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