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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. chest — a box
  3. track — a song
  4. track — a path
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — a tool
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wound — an injury
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spring — the season
  24. calf — of the leg

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