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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. track — to keep track
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pop — to visit
  6. court — for sport
  7. pop — soda
  8. mark — a trace
  9. rest — what's left
  10. court — of law
  11. mark — a grade
  12. pop — music
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. court — of a king
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. toast — bread
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — in music
  21. rest — a break
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. prune — to trim
  24. scale — for weighing

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