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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bear — the animal
  5. file — a document
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. court — of a king
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bear — the animal
  11. prune — to trim
  12. track — a song
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bass — the fish
  19. track — to keep track
  20. court — of law
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bass — low music
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. court — for sport

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