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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. mug — a cup
  3. bat — the animal
  4. mug — to rob
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. rest — what's left
  7. row — a line
  8. mug — a face
  9. capital — a city
  10. rest — what's left
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. capital — money
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. field — for sport
  17. row — to paddle
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. field — a subject
  20. rest — a break
  21. track — a path
  22. field — farmland
  23. track — a song
  24. bat — in an idiom

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