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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 120 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. track — to keep track
  3. file — a line of people
  4. can — a tin
  5. bear — the animal
  6. track — a song
  7. club — for golf
  8. bear — the animal
  9. court — of law
  10. can — to be able to
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. current — happening now
  13. file — a document
  14. current — of water
  15. court — for sport
  16. can — a tin
  17. file — a tool
  18. degree — temperature
  19. current — electric
  20. club — a group
  21. degree — an amount
  22. track — a path
  23. degree — from a university
  24. club — for dancing

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