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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. spell — letters
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. court — of a king
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. court — for sport
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. spell — a short time
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. track — a path
  12. cue — a signal
  13. track — a song
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cold — an illness
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. cue — a hint
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. cold — not warm
  21. spell — magic
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. court — of law
  24. leaves — lets stay

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