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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: court · rock · kid · face · kick · spell · bark · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  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. kick — with a leg
  3. spell — magic
  4. court — for sport
  5. kid — child
  6. kick — in football
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. court — of a king
  9. spell — letters
  10. track — a song
  11. rock — music
  12. face — part of the head
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bark — to shout
  17. spell — a short time
  18. face — to point toward
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. face — to confront
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. track — a path
  23. rock — a stone
  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