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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. track — to keep track
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. drill — the tool
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. track — a path
  11. track — a song
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. drill — a practice
  17. deal — to handle
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in biology
  20. chest — of your body
  21. drill — army training
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pitcher — a jug

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