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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 116 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · track · court · kid · racket · spring

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — to tease
  3. track — to keep track
  4. court — of a king
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. court — of law
  8. club — a group
  9. track — a song
  10. spring — of water
  11. court — for sport
  12. spring — a coil
  13. club — for dancing
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. kid — child
  16. spring — the season
  17. club — for golf
  18. track — a path

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