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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bore · wake · court · track · patient · row · bay · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. court — of law
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. court — of a king
  5. content — the amount
  6. wake — a trail
  7. track — a song
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bore — to tire
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. court — for sport
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bore — to drill
  18. track — to keep track
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. track — a path
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. row — a line
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. row — to paddle

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