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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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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: march · content · hand · court · foot · row · calf · land

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. land — a country
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. march — the month
  6. content — the amount
  7. march — the month
  8. court — for sport
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. land — to come down
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. row — to paddle
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. row — a line
  18. march — music
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — help
  21. content — happy
  22. foot — a measure
  23. land — ground
  24. calf — a young 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