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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 124 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. row — to paddle
  3. key — in music
  4. chest — of your body
  5. track — a path
  6. chest — of your body
  7. key — for a lock
  8. net — in sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. key — the most important part
  11. track — a song
  12. court — of a king
  13. chest — a box
  14. net — for catching
  15. rock — music
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. field — for sport
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. court — of law
  20. track — to keep track
  21. row — a line
  22. field — farmland
  23. rock — a stone
  24. net — after costs

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