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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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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: track · bass · bat · content · drill · prune · suit · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bat — the animal
  7. drill — army training
  8. suit — to fit
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a song
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. court — of law
  17. bass — low music
  18. track — a path
  19. suit — in cards
  20. drill — a practice
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. suit — clothes
  24. bat — in an idiom

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