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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. track — a song
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wound — an injury
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bear — the animal
  11. roll — a cake
  12. cold — an illness
  13. toast — bread
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. court — of law
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. court — for sport
  19. roll — a list
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. track — to keep track
  23. wound — an injury
  24. track — a path

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