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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: kid · content · track · rest · leaves · hide · court · spell

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. rest — a break
  4. kid — child
  5. content — happy
  6. rest — what's left
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — a short time
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a song
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. court — of a king
  17. kid — to tease
  18. track — a path
  19. rest — what's left
  20. court — of law
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. court — for sport

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