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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 120 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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. track — a song
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. file — a tool
  6. ball — a dance
  7. wound — an injury
  8. file — a document
  9. rock — a stone
  10. ball — a great time
  11. court — of law
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cue — for pool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rock — music
  18. court — of a king
  19. track — a path
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cue — a hint
  23. court — for sport
  24. cue — a signal

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