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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — music
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. last — finally
  6. last — to go on
  7. kick — in football
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. track — a path
  10. game — a match
  11. spell — a short time
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. spell — letters
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. pound — a weight
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. track — a song
  19. game — wild animals
  20. last — final
  21. spell — magic
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pop — soda

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