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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cold — not warm
  3. row — to paddle
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. track — to keep track
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. track — a song
  8. kid — child
  9. mark — a trace
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. cold — an illness
  14. deal — to handle
  15. court — of a king
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. row — a line
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. track — a path
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mark — a grade
  23. court — of law
  24. deal — an agreement

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