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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kid — to tease
  5. last — finally
  6. cue — a hint
  7. track — a song
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kick — in football
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cue — for pool
  13. bound — certain
  14. cue — a signal
  15. degree — temperature
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. last — to go on
  18. degree — an amount
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. last — final
  21. track — a path
  22. kid — child
  23. bound — obliged
  24. degree — from a university

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