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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a path
  3. shower — rain
  4. march — the month
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. last — to go on
  7. march — music
  8. court — for sport
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. object — an aim
  12. object — to protest
  13. track — a song
  14. object — a thing
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. march — the month
  18. saw — the tool
  19. chip — for betting
  20. saw — the tool
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — to eat
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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