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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 116 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mate — a partner
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. track — to keep track
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. present — the time now
  7. track — a song
  8. court — of a king
  9. track — a path
  10. wax — to grow
  11. perch — the fish
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. court — for sport
  14. present — a gift
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. court — of law
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. present — there
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a friend
  23. field — a subject
  24. perch — for a bird

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