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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. spring — a coil
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. ball — a dance
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. degree — from a university
  10. spring — the season
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. bear — the animal
  13. degree — temperature
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. ball — a great time
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a path
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pass — a permit
  20. degree — an amount
  21. court — of a king
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. spring — of water

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