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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. track — a path
  4. kid — child
  5. spell — magic
  6. board — a committee
  7. net — for catching
  8. board — to get on
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. track — a song
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. spell — letters
  16. band — a music group
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spell — a short time
  19. band — a ring
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. track — to keep track
  24. court — for 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