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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 · pit · tube · snap · season · content · drill · scale

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. tube — a container
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. content — happy
  5. drill — a practice
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. court — of law
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. scale — size or range
  10. season — in sport
  11. scale — in music
  12. snap — to click
  13. content — the amount
  14. drill — the tool
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. season — of the year
  18. pit — a hole
  19. court — for sport
  20. drill — army training
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pit — in a race
  24. tube — the underground

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