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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. spell — magic
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bark — to shout
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. track — a path
  14. season — in sport
  15. pitch — completely
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. season — of the year
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. track — a song
  24. shower — rain

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