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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 120 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cold — an illness
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. court — of law
  5. track — a song
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. game — a match
  10. track — to keep track
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. spell — magic
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spell — letters
  15. bear — the animal
  16. game — wild animals
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. court — for sport
  20. bear — the animal
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. court — of a king
  23. spell — a short time
  24. cold — the Cold War

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