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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: track · content · last · squash · kick · chair · ground · fork

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. last — to go on
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. last — finally
  5. chair — a leader
  6. squash — to crush
  7. fork — in a road
  8. track — to keep track
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. content — the amount
  13. kick — in football
  14. track — a path
  15. last — final
  16. ground — the earth
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. ground — crushed
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. squash — the sport
  22. ground — a position
  23. content — happy
  24. track — a song

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