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

Word bank: bay · track · rash · ground · shower · lie · net · court

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. rash — a series
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. net — after costs
  5. shower — to wash
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. ground — the earth
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. court — for sport
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. rash — hasty
  17. ground — crushed
  18. track — a song
  19. net — in sport
  20. lie — to recline
  21. ground — a position
  22. net — for catching
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. shower — rain

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