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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. court — for sport
  4. fine — high quality
  5. court — of a king
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. spring — the season
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. track — a path
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. fine — all right
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. track — a song
  19. mine — for digging
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — of water
  22. court — of law
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. pass — a permit

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