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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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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: content · court · saw · track · foot · branch · straw · mouse

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. saw — the tool
  4. content — happy
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. content — the amount
  15. court — of a king
  16. branch — a division
  17. saw — the tool
  18. track — a song
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. track — to keep track
  22. foot — a measure
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — the animal

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