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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 · perch · calf · content · date · roll · track · kick

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. content — happy
  3. track — to keep track
  4. roll — a list
  5. court — of law
  6. perch — the fish
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. court — for sport
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. track — a song
  18. court — of a king
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. kick — in football
  21. content — the amount
  22. roll — a cake
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. date — the fruit

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