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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. press — newspapers
  8. track — a song
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cell — a phone
  11. squash — to crush
  12. date — the fruit
  13. track — a path
  14. bear — the animal
  15. chest — a box
  16. squash — the sport
  17. press — to push
  18. press — a publisher
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cell — in biology
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bat — the animal
  24. chest — of your 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