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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 116 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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. track — a song
  3. court — for sport
  4. rest — a break
  5. drill — a practice
  6. capital — money
  7. fall — the season
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. fall — to drop
  10. last — to go on
  11. rest — what's left
  12. track — a path
  13. drill — the tool
  14. court — of a king
  15. last — final
  16. fall — to drop
  17. capital — a city
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. court — of law
  21. rest — what's left
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. track — to keep track
  24. last — finally

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