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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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. club — for golf
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. hand — in cards
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for dancing
  11. last — final
  12. last — to go on
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. track — a path
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — a measure
  17. march — the month
  18. row — to paddle
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. track — a song
  21. rash — hasty
  22. hand — help
  23. row — a line
  24. last — finally

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