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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. track — a path
  4. season — in sport
  5. current — electric
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. current — of water
  8. court — for sport
  9. tear — to rip
  10. track — to keep track
  11. tear — from crying
  12. season — of the year
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. court — of law
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. court — of a king
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. capital — money
  21. track — a song
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. current — happening now

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