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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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — to play on
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wake — a trail
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. scale — size or range
  8. ground — the earth
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. track — a song
  13. swing — music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — in music
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — child
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — after costs
  22. ground — a position
  23. track — a path
  24. net — in sport

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