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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
468
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: court · content · last · staff · hide · fork · bowl · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. staff — employees
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. last — final
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. court — of a king
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. track — a song
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. staff — a stick
  12. fork — in a road
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. court — of law
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. staff — employees
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. track — to keep track
  22. court — for sport
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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