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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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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 · bear · club · mouse · content · file · fork · stem

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. content — happy
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. club — a group
  5. bear — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. fork — in a road
  8. file — a document
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bear — the animal
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. file — a tool
  15. court — of law
  16. court — for sport
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. club — for golf
  23. court — of a king
  24. file — a line of people

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