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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fan · spell · rush · pop · wound · court · track · game

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. court — of a king
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. track — to keep track
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pop — soda
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wound — an injury
  11. court — of law
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. track — a song
  14. pop — music
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rush — hurry
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. spell — letters
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. court — for sport
  22. pop — to visit
  23. spell — magic
  24. 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