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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. track — a path
  3. game — a match
  4. season — of the year
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. fine — all right
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. suit — clothes
  10. track — to keep track
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. kid — to tease
  14. season — in sport
  15. bat — the animal
  16. kid — child
  17. track — a song
  18. row — a line
  19. fine — high quality
  20. suit — in cards
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. suit — to fit

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