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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. court — of a king
  4. toast — bread
  5. track — a song
  6. track — to keep track
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. last — finally
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. track — a path
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. court — for sport
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. court — of law

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