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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 116 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. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  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. track — to keep track
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. root — of a word
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. swing — in golf
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. chip — to eat
  9. court — of a king
  10. swing — music
  11. track — a path
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. plane — a tool
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. court — for sport
  17. root — of a plant
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a city
  20. chip — for betting
  21. court — of law
  22. swing — to play on
  23. root — the cause
  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