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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: arm · bat · wound · kick · last · date · deal · track

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. deal — to handle
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. last — final
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bat — the animal
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. track — a path
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. date — the fruit
  18. last — finally
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a song
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. kick — in football

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