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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 · racket · content · wind · jam · last · cell · mouse

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. content — happy
  4. last — to go on
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — a phone
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. content — the amount
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cell — in biology
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. mouse — the animal
  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