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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 120 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. court — of a king
  3. file — a line of people
  4. sharp — clever
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a tool
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. court — of law
  9. plane — a tool
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. track — to keep track
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. court — for sport
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — the fish
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pound — a weight
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pound — for dogs

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