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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. chest — of your body
  3. track — to keep track
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chest — of your body
  6. squash — the sport
  7. track — a song
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. chest — a box
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — army training
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. squash — to crush
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. drill — the tool
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. kid — to tease

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