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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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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: court · march · pit · chip · content · stem · firm · cold

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. firm — a company
  3. firm — steady
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. chip — for betting
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. chip — to eat
  10. court — for sport
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. pit — in a race
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. content — happy
  15. court — of law
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stem — to come from
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. firm — decided
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. march — the month
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cold — not warm

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