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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. rock — music
  3. wind — moving air
  4. court — of law
  5. rock — a stone
  6. track — to keep track
  7. court — of a king
  8. club — for dancing
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. club — for golf
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. club — a group
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. court — for sport
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. prune — to trim
  20. track — a song
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. track — a path
  24. prune — to trim

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