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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 120 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. net — after costs
  3. track — a song
  4. pop — soda
  5. net — in sport
  6. cap — a hat
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. rash — a series
  9. court — of law
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. cap — a lid
  13. rash — hasty
  14. pop — to visit
  15. track — a path
  16. court — for sport
  17. pop — music
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. net — for catching
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. court — of a king
  22. cap — of ice
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pound — for dogs

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