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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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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: bat · date · pass · rest · coach · track · dip · game

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rest — a break
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pass — a permit
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. rest — what's left
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. game — wild animals
  13. dip — to sink
  14. track — a path
  15. date — the fruit
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. track — to keep track
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. rest — what's left
  24. game — a match

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