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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. track — a song
  4. court — for sport
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bat — the animal
  9. court — of law
  10. last — final
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. game — a match
  13. game — wild animals
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bear — the animal
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — finally
  20. court — of a king
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. track — a path
  23. track — to keep track
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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