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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 120 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. chest — of your body
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — to protest
  9. object — a thing
  10. last — to go on
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chest — a box
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. last — finally
  15. track — a song
  16. last — final
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. mate — to breed
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. track — a path
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. bat — the animal
  24. deal — to handle

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