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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bat — the animal
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. ground — the earth
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. row — a line
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. kid — to tease
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. kid — child
  15. ground — a position
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. track — a path
  20. row — to paddle
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. track — a song
  24. bat — for baseball

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