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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. track — a path
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fall — to drop
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. fall — the season
  7. wound — an injury
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. club — for golf
  10. track — a song
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. degree — from a university
  16. game — a match
  17. game — wild animals
  18. club — for dancing
  19. ball — a dance
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. ball — a great time
  23. track — to keep track
  24. club — a group

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