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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a song
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. date — the fruit
  7. stock — shares
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. mine — for digging
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. stock — goods
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. track — a path
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bat — the animal
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. hand — help
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. hand — in cards

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