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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a path
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. track — a song
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bat — the animal
  17. kid — child
  18. fork — in a road
  19. stand — to bear
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. saw — the tool
  24. straw — dry grass

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