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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: mate · track · wound · bat · fan · rest · ball · race

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. ball — a great time
  9. race — humankind
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mate — to breed
  15. track — a path
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. ball — a dance
  18. race — a contest
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. rest — what's left
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. track — a song

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