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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. file — a line of people
  3. court — for sport
  4. track — a path
  5. key — for a lock
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. staff — employees
  9. court — of a king
  10. file — a document
  11. key — in music
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. track — a song
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. staff — employees
  16. wake — a trail
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bat — the animal
  20. court — of law
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. file — a tool
  23. key — the most important part
  24. bat — in an idiom

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