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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. land — ground
  4. court — for sport
  5. ground — a position
  6. craft — a skill
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. track — a path
  9. craft — boats
  10. mark — a trace
  11. ground — the earth
  12. land — to come down
  13. track — to keep track
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. track — a song
  16. court — of a king
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. land — a country
  19. court — of law
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. ground — crushed
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — for a computer

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