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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 120 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. court — of law
  3. wind — moving air
  4. track — to keep track
  5. object — an aim
  6. hand — help
  7. object — to protest
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. hand — in cards
  10. object — a thing
  11. court — for sport
  12. lean — thin
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. court — of a king
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. lean — to bend
  18. wound — an injury
  19. track — a path
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. lean — to rest against

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