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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: spring · fall · wind · wave · content · kick · court · jam

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. spring — of water
  6. court — for sport
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. fall — the season
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. spring — the season
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. content — happy
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. content — the amount
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. fall — to drop
  18. court — of law
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fall — to drop
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. kick — in football
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wind — moving air

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