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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: ball · hand · mark · game · track · fork · wound · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. game — wild animals
  3. track — a song
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mark — a trace
  7. hand — help
  8. mark — a grade
  9. ball — a great time
  10. court — of law
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. track — to keep track
  19. ball — a dance
  20. court — for sport
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. track — a path
  23. game — a match
  24. fork — in a road

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