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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. track — to keep track
  4. rest — a break
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cap — a hat
  8. rest — what's left
  9. drill — a practice
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. track — a path
  12. cap — of ice
  13. rest — what's left
  14. roll — a list
  15. drill — the tool
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cap — a lid
  18. track — a song
  19. roll — a cake
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. bat — the animal
  22. drill — army training
  23. dip — to sink
  24. arm — part of the body

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