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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. suit — clothes
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. suit — to fit
  5. track — a song
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a path
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a leader
  11. file — a tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bat — the animal
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. march — the month
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. file — a document
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. march — the month
  21. suit — in cards
  22. march — music
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. file — a line of people

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