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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. court — of a king
  3. bass — low music
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. track — to keep track
  6. bass — the fish
  7. track — a song
  8. court — of law
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wake — a trail
  12. tear — to rip
  13. suit — to fit
  14. tear — from crying
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. suit — clothes
  17. track — a path
  18. snap — to click
  19. tear — from crying
  20. scale — in music
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. court — for sport
  23. scale — size or range
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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