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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. court — of law
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. prune — to trim
  7. net — after costs
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. net — in sport
  12. court — for sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. can — to be able to
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a path
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — goods
  21. can — a tin
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. court — of a king
  24. can — a tin

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