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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: track · cell · bulb · pass · fine · date · content · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. track — a song
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. fine — all right
  9. cell — a phone
  10. track — to keep track
  11. fine — high quality
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. pass — a permit
  15. track — a path
  16. court — of a king
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. content — the amount
  20. court — for sport
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. fine — a penalty

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