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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bat — the animal
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. court — of a king
  6. track — a path
  7. pop — to visit
  8. tube — the underground
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. field — a subject
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. field — for sport
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — soda
  18. field — farmland
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — a division
  21. track — to keep track
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. court — of law
  24. track — a song

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