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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. kid — child
  3. track — a song
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. degree — from a university
  8. suit — clothes
  9. sharp — clever
  10. ground — the earth
  11. hand — in cards
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. suit — to fit
  16. track — a path
  17. ground — crushed
  18. degree — temperature
  19. hand — help
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. ground — a position
  22. suit — in cards
  23. kid — to tease
  24. pit — a hole

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