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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: ball · fork · content · plane · bore · track · clip · stem

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. ball — a dance
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fork — in a road
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. clip — to cut
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bore — to tire
  12. track — a song
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bore — to drill
  16. track — a path
  17. clip — a video
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. plane — a tool
  22. stem — to come from
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — an aircraft

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