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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — to keep track
  3. drill — a practice
  4. court — of law
  5. kid — to tease
  6. ground — a position
  7. court — for sport
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. kid — child
  10. foot — a measure
  11. ground — the earth
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — the underground
  14. court — of a king
  15. track — a path
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. drill — the tool
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. pitch — completely
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. drill — army training
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. ground — crushed

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