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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. capital — money
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. squash — to crush
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. track — a path
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. court — for sport
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. court — of law
  13. track — a song
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. court — of a king
  17. squash — the sport
  18. deal — to handle
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. squash — the vegetable

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