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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. pit — a hole
  3. net — for catching
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. net — in sport
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. fine — high quality
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. net — after costs
  15. track — a path
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fine — all right
  18. kid — to tease
  19. tear — to rip
  20. pit — in a race
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. track — to keep track
  24. bat — the animal

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