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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. track — a path
  6. track — a song
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. game — wild animals
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. game — a match
  19. fork — in a road
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. date — the fruit

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