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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. track — a song
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — the fruit
  10. track — to keep track
  11. stand — to bear
  12. land — to come down
  13. drill — a practice
  14. ball — a dance
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. branch — a division
  19. land — ground
  20. drill — the tool
  21. land — a country
  22. court — of law
  23. drill — army training
  24. ball — a great time

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