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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. track — to keep track
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. fine — all right
  5. roll — a cake
  6. track — a path
  7. roll — a list
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. court — of a king
  11. rock — music
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. track — a song
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fine — high quality
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rock — a stone
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. rash — a series
  24. saw — the tool

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