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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: club · cold · mug · track · court · craft · pitcher · cap

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. court — for sport
  4. track — a song
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a path
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. mug — to rob
  9. cap — of ice
  10. court — of law
  11. mug — a face
  12. club — for dancing
  13. cold — not warm
  14. craft — a skill
  15. mug — a cup
  16. club — for golf
  17. cap — a hat
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cold — an illness
  22. club — a group
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cold — the Cold War

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