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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. track — to keep track
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. content — the amount
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — in cards
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. track — a path
  13. rash — a series
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. rash — hasty
  19. field — farmland
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — to crush
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. track — a song
  24. content — happy

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