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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 116 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. tear — from crying
  4. track — a path
  5. bound — obliged
  6. track — a song
  7. bat — the animal
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bound — tied together
  10. kick — in football
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bound — certain
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. kick — with a leg

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