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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 hit the back of the ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. track — a song
  3. court — of law
  4. track — to keep track
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. court — of a king
  10. net — after costs
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. tube — the underground
  14. track — a path
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. tube — a container
  20. net — for catching
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a great time
  23. leaves — to go away
  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