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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a song
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. rash — a series
  5. fine — all right
  6. court — of a king
  7. root — the cause
  8. court — for sport
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. court — of law
  11. track — a path
  12. rash — hasty
  13. swing — in golf
  14. fine — high quality
  15. swing — music
  16. root — of a word
  17. swing — to play on
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — to push
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. root — of a plant
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. press — a publisher

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