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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. present — a gift
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. track — a path
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. foot — a measure
  16. kid — to tease
  17. shower — to wash
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. present — there
  23. present — the time now
  24. track — a song

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