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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. court — of law
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. squash — to crush
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. track — a path
  9. track — to keep track
  10. dip — to sink
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. object — to protest
  13. track — a song
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. squash — the sport
  19. court — for sport
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. court — of a king
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. capital — money
  24. object — an aim

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