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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 120 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: root · last · mark · bore · content · race · row · court

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. court — of law
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. row — a line
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. mark — a grade
  8. bore — to tire
  9. root — of a plant
  10. mark — a trace
  11. content — happy
  12. root — of a word
  13. content — the amount
  14. last — to go on
  15. court — for sport
  16. bore — to drill
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. root — the cause
  19. last — final
  20. race — humankind
  21. court — of a king
  22. race — the arms race
  23. row — to paddle
  24. race — a contest

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