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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 116 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: track · cue · court · leaves · perch · wind · content · nail

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wind — moving air
  3. court — for sport
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. court — of law
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wind — moving air
  9. track — a song
  10. perch — the fish
  11. court — of a king
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cue — a signal
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cue — for pool
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. track — a path
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. content — the amount
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. track — to keep track
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. content — happy

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