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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. court — of law
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. swing — to play on
  10. track — to keep track
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. file — a line of people
  13. hand — help
  14. track — a song
  15. file — a document
  16. swing — music
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. court — for sport
  19. hand — in cards
  20. swing — in golf
  21. file — a tool
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. court — of a king

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