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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 120 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 · present · bound · pop · kick · hand · track · file

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. bound — certain
  3. court — of law
  4. track — a song
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. file — a tool
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. present — the time now
  10. hand — in cards
  11. present — there
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. file — a line of people
  15. kick — in football
  16. pop — to visit
  17. track — to keep track
  18. file — a document
  19. pop — soda
  20. bound — tied together
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. present — a gift
  23. bound — obliged
  24. track — a path

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