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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.

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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: present · fork · track · cell · bore · cue · ground · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. track — a path
  3. cell — in biology
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. present — the time now
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. cue — for pool
  10. present — a gift
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. ground — a position
  14. bore — to tire
  15. cue — a hint
  16. present — there
  17. cue — a signal
  18. ground — crushed
  19. track — a song
  20. cell — a phone
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. ground — the earth
  24. content — the amount

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