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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. kid — to tease
  3. track — a path
  4. file — a line of people
  5. kid — child
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mug — to rob
  9. track — to keep track
  10. mug — a cup
  11. mug — a face
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — the time now
  14. track — a song
  15. present — there
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bat — the animal
  20. file — a document
  21. stock — goods
  22. file — a tool
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — shares

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