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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. track — to keep track
  3. swing — music
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. swing — to play on
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bat — the animal
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. cap — a hat
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cap — a lid
  16. track — a path
  17. face — to point toward
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — the tool
  20. track — a song
  21. swing — in golf
  22. face — part of the head
  23. cap — of ice
  24. face — to confront

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