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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a song
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. track — a path
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — boats
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. court — of a king
  11. file — a tool
  12. net — for catching
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. net — in sport
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. court — for sport
  19. perch — the fish
  20. file — a line of people
  21. net — after costs
  22. wind — moving air
  23. court — of law
  24. wind — moving air

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