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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bass — low music
  6. rash — hasty
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. spring — of water
  10. land — a country
  11. rash — a series
  12. kid — to tease
  13. land — to come down
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. track — a song
  17. land — ground
  18. track — a path
  19. court — of law
  20. bass — the fish
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. court — for sport
  24. track — to keep track

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