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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. chest — of your body
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. last — finally
  8. game — wild animals
  9. last — to go on
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — a safe
  12. track — a path
  13. track — a song
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. chest — of your body
  19. game — a match
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pit — in a race
  23. chest — a box
  24. last — final

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