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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. wound — an injury
  3. track — a song
  4. fine — high quality
  5. track — a path
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. face — to point toward
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. pit — a hole
  12. face — to confront
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. swing — to play on
  15. fine — all right
  16. track — to keep track
  17. face — part of the head
  18. rock — a stone
  19. swing — music
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. swing — in golf
  22. pit — in a race
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. wound — an injury

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