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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. court — of a king
  3. track — a path
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. root — the cause
  7. rest — what's left
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. stand — to bear
  10. fork — in a road
  11. root — of a word
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. land — a country
  14. root — of a plant
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. court — of law
  17. court — for sport
  18. track — to keep track
  19. rest — a break
  20. land — to come down
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. land — ground

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