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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · track · spell · present · bat · ball · file · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. file — a line of people
  5. spell — magic
  6. track — a song
  7. file — a tool
  8. track — a path
  9. present — a gift
  10. ball — a dance
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. spell — letters
  15. present — there
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ball — a great time
  19. bat — the animal
  20. present — the time now
  21. file — a document
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. chest — a box
  24. spell — a short time

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