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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. court — of a king
  3. track — a song
  4. tear — from crying
  5. court — of law
  6. track — to keep track
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stock — shares
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. staff — employees
  12. last — final
  13. tear — to rip
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. stock — goods
  17. staff — a stick
  18. rash — hasty
  19. staff — employees
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. last — finally
  22. tear — from crying
  23. court — for sport
  24. track — a path

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