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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wind · content · court · firm · drill · hand · game · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. game — wild animals
  3. drill — a practice
  4. game — a match
  5. wind — moving air
  6. content — the amount
  7. hand — in cards
  8. court — of a king
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. court — for sport
  11. content — happy
  12. firm — a company
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. court — of law
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. firm — steady
  19. drill — army training
  20. row — to paddle
  21. firm — decided
  22. drill — the tool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hand — help

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