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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. chip — for betting
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. game — a match
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. hand — help
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. track — a song
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. shower — to wash
  17. chip — to eat
  18. shower — rain
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bat — the animal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. track — a path
  24. hand — part of the body

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