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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.

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 · dip · content · firm · spring · lash · cold · track

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. spring — the season
  3. court — of law
  4. cold — not warm
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. spring — of water
  8. court — of a king
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. track — a song
  11. content — the amount
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. track — to keep track
  14. spring — a coil
  15. firm — decided
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. firm — a company
  18. firm — steady
  19. cold — an illness
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. track — a path
  24. lash — to lash out

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