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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. last — to go on
  3. court — for sport
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. track — a song
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bass — the fish
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. charge — in control
  11. track — a path
  12. court — of law
  13. charge — a price
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. last — final
  16. bass — low music
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. charge — electricity
  19. spell — a short time
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. court — of a king
  22. last — finally
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. spell — magic

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