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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · court · spell · hide · rest · tear · season · track

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  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 — a song
  2. season — in sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. season — of the year
  5. spell — magic
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spell — a short time
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rest — what's left
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spell — letters
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. track — to keep track
  18. rest — a break
  19. court — for sport
  20. wound — an injury
  21. track — a path
  22. rest — what's left
  23. tear — from crying
  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