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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 116 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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. track — a song
  4. cell — in biology
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cell — a phone
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. dip — to sink
  20. hand — help
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bat — the animal
  23. track — a path
  24. hand — in cards

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