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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. track — a path
  3. track — to keep track
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. mine — for digging
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. last — final
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. club — for golf
  11. last — to go on
  12. club — for dancing
  13. chip — for betting
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. scale — in music
  16. track — a song
  17. club — a group
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. chip — to eat
  22. last — finally
  23. scale — size or range
  24. chip — in a computer

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