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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
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 · leaves · fork · lie · row · fan · content · band

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. content — happy
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. band — a ring
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. fork — in a road
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. court — for sport
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. content — the amount
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. row — to paddle
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. band — a music group
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. band — a rubber band

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