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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: track · cap · court · lean · wake · mine · shower · key

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. mine — for digging
  3. shower — rain
  4. court — of a king
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — in music
  7. cap — a hat
  8. lean — thin
  9. track — a path
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cap — a lid
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. track — a song
  19. lean — to bend
  20. shower — to wash
  21. key — for a lock
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of law
  24. cap — of ice

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