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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. 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. track — to keep track
  2. swing — to play on
  3. wake — a trail
  4. track — a song
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. court — for sport
  7. board — to get on
  8. track — a path
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. capital — money
  12. lie — to recline
  13. capital — a city
  14. court — of a king
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. board — a committee
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. swing — music
  20. wind — moving air
  21. swing — in golf
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. wind — moving air
  24. 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