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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  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. game — a match
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pit — in a race
  4. court — for sport
  5. chair — a leader
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. pit — a hole
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pop — to visit
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — soda
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. cold — not warm
  19. track — a path
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. track — a song
  23. racket — for tennis
  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