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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 · ruler · snap · content · ball · coach · field · chest

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. chest — of your body
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. field — a subject
  7. ball — a great time
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. chest — of your body
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. field — for sport
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. content — happy
  18. court — for sport
  19. chest — a box
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. snap — to click
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. field — farmland

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