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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.

Make a worksheet

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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. track — a song
  7. tear — from crying
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. track — a path
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pitch — completely
  15. game — a match
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. tear — from crying
  18. game — wild animals

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