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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. track — a song
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rest — what's left
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — a grade
  7. staff — employees
  8. can — a tin
  9. track — a path
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rash — a series
  12. can — a tin
  13. court — of law
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. rash — hasty
  17. track — to keep track
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. can — to be able to
  22. rest — a break
  23. staff — employees
  24. rest — what's left

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