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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. spring — the season
  4. net — in sport
  5. pass — a permit
  6. court — for sport
  7. track — to keep track
  8. drill — a practice
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. spring — a coil
  12. court — of a king
  13. spring — of water
  14. drill — army training
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. net — after costs
  17. track — a song
  18. pitch — completely
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. court — of law
  23. drill — the tool
  24. net — for catching

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