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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 116 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. court — for sport
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. suit — in cards
  5. suit — to fit
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bear — the animal
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. branch — a division
  13. court — of a king
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. row — a line
  16. track — to keep track
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bear — the animal
  19. track — a song
  20. pound — a weight
  21. court — of law
  22. chair — a leader
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. suit — clothes

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