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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. court — of law
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. rule — government
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. land — to come down
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. court — of a king
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bark — to shout
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pass — a permit
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — a law
  24. court — for sport

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