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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. root — the cause
  3. ball — a great time
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. ball — a dance
  6. march — the month
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. track — a path
  9. court — of a king
  10. march — music
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. wind — moving air
  13. track — a song
  14. court — for sport
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. march — the month
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. root — of a word
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wind — moving air
  24. court — of law

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