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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 hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. track — a song
  4. track — to keep track
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. net — after costs
  7. rock — a stone
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. fall — to drop
  10. track — a path
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. fall — the season
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. content — happy
  16. capital — a city
  17. pound — a weight
  18. net — for catching
  19. rock — music
  20. capital — money
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — the amount
  23. court — for sport
  24. fall — to drop

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