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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. spring — of water
  3. court — for sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. spring — a coil
  6. season — in sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bat — the animal
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. track — a path
  13. perch — the fish
  14. track — to keep track
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. court — of law
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. court — of a king
  23. spring — the season
  24. season — of the year

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