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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: court · stick · kid · root · wake · date · lash · content

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. court — of law
  4. kid — to tease
  5. root — of a plant
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. date — the fruit
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. court — for sport
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. content — happy
  14. court — of a king
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. root — of a word
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. root — the cause
  24. content — the amount

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