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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cap — a hat
  3. net — for catching
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. net — in sport
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cell — a phone
  12. net — after costs
  13. row — a line
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. cell — in biology
  17. track — a song
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. track — to keep track
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cap — a lid

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