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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. wound — an injury
  3. court — of law
  4. track — to keep track
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. pop — to visit
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. rash — a series
  10. court — of a king
  11. track — a path
  12. ground — a position
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — hasty
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — music
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — the underground
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. court — for sport
  22. ground — crushed
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. track — a song

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