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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. court — of law
  4. key — the most important part
  5. degree — from a university
  6. key — for a lock
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. track — a path
  9. track — to keep track
  10. file — a tool
  11. track — a song
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bear — the animal
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bear — the animal
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. key — in music
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. file — a document
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. court — for sport
  24. file — a line of people

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