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

Word bank: track · bat · shower · chest · stock · object · mouse · dip

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. chest — a box
  3. object — an aim
  4. object — to protest
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. stock — goods
  8. track — a song
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bat — the animal
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. track — a path
  19. chest — of your body
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. object — a thing
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. dip — to sink
  24. chest — of your body

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