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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. suit — to fit
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. roll — a list
  7. kick — in football
  8. club — a group
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. suit — clothes
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. degree — from a university
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. stand — to bear
  16. court — for sport
  17. roll — a cake
  18. court — of a king
  19. suit — in cards
  20. track — a song
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. degree — temperature
  23. court — of law
  24. degree — an amount

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