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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: pop · court · bound · clip · track · shower · bowl · fork

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — soda
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. fork — in a road
  9. bound — certain
  10. court — of law
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bound — tied together
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. track — a path
  16. shower — rain
  17. pop — to visit
  18. court — of a king
  19. clip — a video
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. bound — obliged
  22. track — a song
  23. court — for sport
  24. track — to keep track

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