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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. track — to keep track
  5. hand — help
  6. track — a song
  7. land — ground
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. track — a path
  11. staff — employees
  12. land — a country
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. last — finally
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bat — the animal
  20. land — to come down
  21. staff — a stick
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. staff — employees

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