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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: net · dip · court · sharp · track · can · jam · bat

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. sharp — clever
  3. court — of law
  4. track — to keep track
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. can — a tin
  7. net — for catching
  8. dip — to sink
  9. can — to be able to
  10. track — a path
  11. court — of a king
  12. track — a song
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. can — a tin
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. bat — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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