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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. track — to keep track
  3. craft — a skill
  4. court — of law
  5. track — a path
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. bank — for money
  9. track — a song
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. bank — of a river
  12. season — of the year
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. court — of a king
  16. season — in sport
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. roll — a cake
  19. roll — a list
  20. craft — boats
  21. bank — for money
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. clip — to cut
  24. court — for sport

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