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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. wake — a trail
  3. mark — a grade
  4. club — for golf
  5. court — for sport
  6. club — for dancing
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. chip — for betting
  10. club — a group
  11. spring — of water
  12. shower — rain
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. court — of a king
  15. chip — to eat
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. track — a path
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. court — of law
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. track — a song
  23. track — to keep track
  24. spring — the season

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