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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. march — the month
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. swing — to play on
  8. shower — rain
  9. track — a song
  10. track — a path
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. march — music
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. shower — to wash
  16. track — to keep track
  17. wake — a trail
  18. rock — music
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. march — the month
  22. rock — a stone
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

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