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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.

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: lash · content · sharp · staff · track · cold · perch · court

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. court — of law
  3. cold — not warm
  4. content — happy
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. perch — the fish
  9. track — to keep track
  10. staff — a stick
  11. track — a song
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. content — the amount
  15. track — a path
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. staff — employees
  18. court — for sport
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. sharp — clever
  21. cold — an illness
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. staff — employees
  24. court — of a king

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