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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: rest · court · lie · chip · content · bark · bat · pitch

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. bark — to shout
  3. content — the amount
  4. court — for sport
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. content — happy
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. rest — what's left
  11. court — of a king
  12. chip — for betting
  13. pitch — completely
  14. chip — to eat
  15. court — of law
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. rest — a break
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. rest — what's left

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