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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pop — to visit
  6. track — a song
  7. rest — what's left
  8. net — after costs
  9. court — of a king
  10. rest — what's left
  11. craft — a skill
  12. net — in sport
  13. craft — boats
  14. rest — a break
  15. shower — rain
  16. pop — soda
  17. court — for sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. chip — to eat
  20. pop — music
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. track — a path
  23. court — of law
  24. chip — for betting

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