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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. snap — to click
  3. ball — a dance
  4. track — to keep track
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. season — in sport
  8. track — a path
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. track — a song
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. season — of the year
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. chest — of your body
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. file — a line of people
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. mine — for digging

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