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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 116 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — for sport
  4. object — an aim
  5. march — the month
  6. object — to protest
  7. march — music
  8. court — of law
  9. scale — size or range
  10. track — a path
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bass — low music
  13. net — for catching
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a song
  17. cold — an illness
  18. scale — in music
  19. march — the month
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. net — after costs
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. bass — the fish
  24. net — in 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