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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. toast — bread
  4. plane — a tool
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. track — a path
  9. rash — hasty
  10. pound — a weight
  11. chest — of your body
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. kid — child
  15. chest — a box
  16. wake — a trail
  17. track — a song
  18. kid — to tease
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. toast — the most admired

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