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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. kid — to tease
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. stock — shares
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. fine — all right
  8. kid — child
  9. bass — low music
  10. march — the month
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. fine — high quality
  13. game — wild animals
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. track — a path
  16. game — a match
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. track — a song
  20. march — the month
  21. board — a committee
  22. march — music
  23. stock — goods
  24. bass — the fish

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