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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: tear · perch · court · track · mate · plane · content · season

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mate — a partner
  3. tear — to rip
  4. track — a song
  5. court — of a king
  6. mate — a friend
  7. perch — the fish
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. season — of the year
  11. court — of law
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. content — the amount
  14. season — in sport
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mate — to breed
  17. track — a path
  18. court — for sport
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. track — to keep track
  22. tear — from crying
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. tear — from crying

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