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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: ball · foot · file · track · spell · court · bore · kid

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. foot — a measure
  4. bore — to drill
  5. court — for sport
  6. kid — child
  7. spell — a short time
  8. file — a document
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. ball — a dance
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. track — a path
  14. bore — to tire
  15. kid — to tease
  16. file — a line of people
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. ball — a great time
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — magic
  21. track — a song
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. track — to keep track
  24. file — a tool

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