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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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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: cap · bat · track · can · firm · court · row · wake

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bat — the animal
  3. court — for sport
  4. can — a tin
  5. firm — decided
  6. cap — a lid
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a path
  9. track — a song
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. can — to be able to
  12. wake — a trail
  13. row — a line
  14. cap — a hat
  15. court — of a king
  16. firm — a company
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. court — of law
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. can — a tin
  23. cap — of ice
  24. bat — in an idiom

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