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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: ball · stem · mouse · fork · content · court · file · pass

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. fork — in a road
  7. court — for sport
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. stem — to come from
  10. content — the amount
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. ball — a great time
  14. content — happy
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. court — of law
  17. ball — a dance
  18. court — of a king
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. stem — of a plant

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