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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 120 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. track — a path
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. club — for dancing
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cell — in biology
  17. club — a group
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. rash — a series
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — to recline
  23. track — to keep track
  24. club — for golf

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