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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. net — in sport
  3. bound — certain
  4. bat — the animal
  5. track — a path
  6. game — a match
  7. pop — music
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. track — to keep track
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. track — a song
  12. chest — of your body
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bound — obliged
  15. pop — to visit
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. net — after costs
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pop — soda
  23. net — for catching
  24. game — a kind of play

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