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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: court · chip · fine · file · rock · mate · track · land

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. track — a song
  4. mate — a partner
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. land — ground
  7. court — for sport
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a line of people
  10. land — a country
  11. rock — music
  12. file — a tool
  13. land — to come down
  14. court — of a king
  15. chip — for betting
  16. track — a path
  17. rock — a stone
  18. fine — high quality
  19. fine — all right
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a friend
  23. chip — to eat
  24. court — of law

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