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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. court — for sport
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. court — of law
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. game — wild animals
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. track — a song
  12. court — of a king
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. track — a path
  15. kick — in football
  16. kid — child
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. game — a match
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. kid — to tease

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