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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. court — of a king
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. court — for sport
  7. mark — a grade
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. cell — in biology
  10. court — of law
  11. board — a committee
  12. bark — to shout
  13. rest — what's left
  14. cell — a phone
  15. kick — in football
  16. track — a song
  17. rest — a break
  18. track — to keep track
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. board — to get on
  23. mark — a trace
  24. kick — with a leg

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