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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 124 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. hand — help
  4. lean — to bend
  5. court — of a king
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bat — the animal
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lean — thin
  11. track — a song
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. stand — to bear
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. band — a ring
  16. court — of law
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. court — for sport
  21. band — a music group
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. track — a path
  24. stand — on your feet

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