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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. court — for sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. tube — a container
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cue — a hint
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. fall — to drop
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. tube — the underground
  17. court — of law
  18. track — a song
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. track — a path
  21. fall — the season
  22. cue — a signal
  23. cue — for pool
  24. court — of a king

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