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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. squash — to crush
  4. club — for golf
  5. kid — child
  6. can — a tin
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. club — a group
  9. track — a song
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. game — a match
  12. club — for dancing
  13. can — to be able to
  14. game — wild animals
  15. can — a tin
  16. field — a subject
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. track — a path
  19. field — farmland
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. field — for sport
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bat — the animal
  24. squash — the sport

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