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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.

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: track · hide · ball · spell · kid · spring · march · foot

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. spell — letters
  3. spring — the season
  4. foot — a measure
  5. kid — child
  6. spell — magic
  7. track — a song
  8. march — music
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. track — a path
  11. kid — to tease
  12. track — to keep track
  13. march — the month
  14. ball — a great time
  15. spring — a coil
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. spring — of water
  19. spell — a short time
  20. ball — a dance
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. march — the month

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