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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. land — to come down
  4. track — a path
  5. ball — a great time
  6. track — to keep track
  7. court — of a king
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cold — not warm
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. land — ground
  15. court — for sport
  16. branch — a division
  17. track — a song
  18. land — a country
  19. court — of law
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of a car

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