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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 120 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: content · trunk · wave · track · bound · race · court · kid

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. track — a song
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. race — a contest
  7. content — happy
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. race — the arms race
  10. kid — to tease
  11. race — humankind
  12. court — of a king
  13. track — a path
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bound — certain
  16. court — for sport
  17. kid — child
  18. content — the amount
  19. bound — obliged
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bound — tied together
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wave — of the sea

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