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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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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: cold · track · content · court · club · rock

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. court — for sport
  3. cold — an illness
  4. content — the amount
  5. cold — not warm
  6. club — for golf
  7. track — a song
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. club — for dancing
  13. rock — music
  14. club — a group
  15. track — a path
  16. rock — a stone
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy

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