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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. row — a line
  3. bat — the animal
  4. game — wild animals
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. fine — high quality
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. spell — magic
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. mark — a grade
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. track — a song
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mark — a trace
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. fine — all right
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — a short time
  20. track — to keep track
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. game — a match
  23. row — to paddle
  24. game — a kind of play

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