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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spell — letters
  7. swing — in golf
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. track — a path
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. swing — music
  14. cold — an illness
  15. spell — magic
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. can — a tin
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. can — a tin
  21. swing — to play on
  22. track — a song
  23. can — to be able to
  24. spell — a short time

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