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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: row · track · hand · fine · rash · face · spell · bat

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. face — to confront
  3. track — to keep track
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fine — high quality
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. spell — magic
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. spell — letters
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. row — to paddle
  14. face — part of the head
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. track — a path
  17. face — to point toward
  18. fine — all right
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rash — hasty
  21. hand — help
  22. row — a line
  23. spell — a short time
  24. rash — a series

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