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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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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. bat — the animal
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. track — a song
  8. plane — a tool
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. hand — help
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. track — to keep track
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger

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