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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
468
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: track · chest · deal · bear · spell · mine · straw · net

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bear — the animal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. spell — letters
  5. chest — a box
  6. net — after costs
  7. spell — a short time
  8. net — in sport
  9. bear — the animal
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chest — of your body
  12. net — for catching
  13. track — to keep track
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. mine — for digging
  19. spell — magic
  20. deal — to handle
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. track — a path
  23. track — a song
  24. deal — an agreement

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