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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a song
  3. chip — for betting
  4. charge — in control
  5. game — a match
  6. charge — electricity
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. chip — to eat
  9. track — a path
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chest — of your body
  14. game — wild animals
  15. chest — a box
  16. charge — a price
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pit — in a race

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