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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. swing — in golf
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bore — to tire
  7. face — part of the head
  8. game — a match
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. track — a song
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. face — to point toward
  15. track — a path
  16. game — wild animals
  17. swing — music
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. face — to confront
  20. bore — to drill
  21. march — the month
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. bat — the animal

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