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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 116 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. fine — high quality
  3. track — a path
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. track — a song
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. fine — all right
  8. spring — of water
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. rush — hurry
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — a leader
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. bat — the animal
  18. spring — the season
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. spring — a coil

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