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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. track — to keep track
  4. object — an aim
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. object — a thing
  8. object — to protest
  9. mug — to rob
  10. rash — hasty
  11. track — a path
  12. bank — for money
  13. track — a song
  14. bank — for money
  15. rash — a series
  16. chest — a box
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mug — a cup
  19. game — wild animals
  20. mug — a face
  21. bank — of a river
  22. kick — in football
  23. chest — of your body
  24. kick — with a leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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