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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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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: deal · wake · court · root · row · calf · field · content

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. row — to paddle
  3. root — of a word
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. content — happy
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. court — of a king
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. field — a subject
  10. deal — to handle
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. root — the cause
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. court — of law
  15. row — a line
  16. field — for sport
  17. root — of a plant
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. court — for sport
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. field — farmland

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