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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: date · content · bay · mouse · pound · coach · court · object

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. court — for sport
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. content — happy
  9. object — to protest
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. object — a thing
  13. court — of a king
  14. object — an aim
  15. court — of law
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. content — the amount
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. date — the fruit
  24. bay — a horse colour

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