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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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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: pass · court · chest · foot · track · shower · pound · last

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. court — of law
  3. last — final
  4. track — a song
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — a measure
  7. track — a path
  8. last — finally
  9. court — for sport
  10. chest — a box
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. court — of a king
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. shower — rain
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. shower — to wash
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. pass — a permit
  21. pound — a weight
  22. last — to go on
  23. chest — of your body
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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