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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. firm — a company
  3. land — ground
  4. court — of a king
  5. rest — a break
  6. clip — a video
  7. rest — what's left
  8. track — a song
  9. court — of law
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rock — music
  13. track — a path
  14. rock — a stone
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. firm — decided
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. firm — steady
  19. clip — to cut
  20. court — for sport
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rock — to move gently

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