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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. mate — to breed
  3. track — to keep track
  4. face — to confront
  5. ball — a great time
  6. face — part of the head
  7. drill — army training
  8. mate — a partner
  9. swing — music
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. mate — a friend
  12. hand — help
  13. drill — a practice
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. face — to point toward
  16. hand — in cards
  17. ball — a dance
  18. stem — to come from
  19. drill — the tool
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. track — a song
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. track — a path
  24. swing — in golf

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