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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. court — for sport
  3. rush — hurry
  4. ground — crushed
  5. track — to keep track
  6. net — in sport
  7. track — a song
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. net — for catching
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. ground — the earth
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. band — a music group
  14. track — a path
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. fork — in a road
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — letters
  19. court — of law
  20. band — a ring
  21. spell — magic
  22. court — of a king
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. net — after costs

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