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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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468
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 · hide · racket · craft · court · spring · shower · cell

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. shower — to wash
  4. track — a path
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cell — in biology
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. track — to keep track
  12. court — of law
  13. cell — a phone
  14. craft — a skill
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. court — of a king
  20. craft — boats
  21. spring — of water
  22. shower — rain
  23. court — for sport
  24. spring — the season

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