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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. track — a path
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. track — to keep track
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bat — the animal
  7. track — a song
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. row — a line
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. pit — in a race
  17. chair — a leader
  18. row — to paddle
  19. rest — a break
  20. pit — a hole
  21. rest — what's left
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wake — a trail

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