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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. cue — a hint
  3. track — a song
  4. bass — low music
  5. court — for sport
  6. spring — of water
  7. cue — for pool
  8. court — of law
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spell — letters
  11. court — of a king
  12. spring — the season
  13. can — a tin
  14. spell — magic
  15. track — a path
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. cue — a signal
  19. spell — a short time
  20. can — to be able to
  21. bass — the fish
  22. game — a match
  23. can — a tin
  24. bass — the instrument

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