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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. track — to keep track
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. lie — to recline
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. swing — music
  10. ball — a dance
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. swing — in golf
  13. capital — money
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. swing — to play on
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. track — a path
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bear — the animal
  21. present — there
  22. present — the time now
  23. track — a song
  24. lie — an untruth

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