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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. court — of law
  6. track — to keep track
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. court — of a king
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. court — for sport
  13. chest — of your body
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. chest — of your body
  16. track — a path
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. chest — a box
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — the arms race
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. race — a contest
  24. wake — before a funeral

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