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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 116 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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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: ball · row · bear · clip · court · kick · content · squash

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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 a king
  2. bear — the animal
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bear — the animal
  6. clip — for paper
  7. squash — the sport
  8. content — happy
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — in football
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. court — of law
  13. ball — a great time
  14. clip — to cut
  15. squash — to crush
  16. ball — a dance
  17. row — a line
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. clip — a video
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. row — a quarrel
  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