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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 120 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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. court — of a king
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of law
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. row — a line
  9. mine — for digging
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. squash — the sport
  12. firm — decided
  13. track — a path
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. track — a song
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wake — a trail
  19. squash — to crush
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. track — to keep track
  23. firm — a company
  24. row — to paddle

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