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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. track — to keep track
  3. present — the time now
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. present — there
  7. stand — to bear
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kick — in football
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. court — of a king
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. present — a gift
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. court — of law
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. track — a path
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. track — a song
  22. last — final
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — child

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