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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 116 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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. track — to keep track
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — low music
  8. court — of law
  9. track — a song
  10. court — for sport
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. court — of a king
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. sharp — clever
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. track — a path
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. prune — to trim
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bass — the fish
  23. wound — an injury
  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