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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: row · court · net · ruler · last · track · cell · march

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. track — a song
  3. cell — a phone
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. last — final
  7. net — for catching
  8. court — of law
  9. last — finally
  10. march — music
  11. court — of a king
  12. march — the month
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. march — the month
  15. court — for sport
  16. row — a line
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. last — to go on
  20. track — to keep track
  21. track — a path
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — in sport
  24. cell — in biology

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