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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. fork — in a road
  4. track — to keep track
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of law
  10. track — a path
  11. file — a line of people
  12. foot — a measure
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. court — of a king
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. track — a song
  22. tear — to rip
  23. content — happy
  24. tear — from crying

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