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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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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: content · club · pit · fork · field · staff · straw · court

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. pit — in a race
  5. court — of a king
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. content — the amount
  9. court — for sport
  10. pit — a hole
  11. fork — in a road
  12. field — a subject
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. club — a group
  15. club — for dancing
  16. court — of law
  17. content — happy
  18. field — for sport
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. club — for golf
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  24. field — farmland

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