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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. root — the cause
  3. cell — in biology
  4. court — for sport
  5. root — of a word
  6. spell — a short time
  7. track — to keep track
  8. shower — rain
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. track — a song
  13. spell — letters
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. court — of a king
  16. root — of a plant
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. spell — magic
  20. pass — a permit
  21. court — of law
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. shower — to wash
  24. cell — in a prison

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