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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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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: content · court · suit · mouse · fork · field · straw · tube

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. court — for sport
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. field — farmland
  9. suit — clothes
  10. field — for sport
  11. content — happy
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. tube — the underground
  14. suit — in cards
  15. field — a subject
  16. suit — to fit
  17. court — of a king
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. content — the amount
  20. court — of law
  21. fork — in a road
  22. tube — a container
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. mouse — the animal

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