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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. row — to paddle
  3. court — of a king
  4. field — farmland
  5. bound — certain
  6. pass — a permit
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. band — a music group
  9. bound — obliged
  10. row — a line
  11. field — for sport
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. band — a ring
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. court — of law
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — a tool
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. track — to keep track
  22. field — a subject
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. bound — tied together

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