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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 looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bank — for money
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. chest — of your body
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. track — a path
  9. game — a match
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bank — for money
  12. bat — the animal
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. snap — to click
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wound — an injury
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. game — wild animals
  22. track — a song
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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