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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: mate · rest · stand · court · content · lie · game · fork

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. content — the amount
  3. lie — to recline
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. court — for sport
  6. rest — what's left
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. rest — a break
  9. mate — a partner
  10. fork — in a road
  11. game — a match
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — happy
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mate — a friend
  17. game — wild animals
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. court — of a king
  21. stand — to bear
  22. mate — to breed
  23. court — of law
  24. fork — to eat with

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