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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.

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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: pit · spell · rule · bat · can · mine · straw · track

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. track — to keep track
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. can — a tin
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. track — a song
  8. can — to be able to
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a hole
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. spell — magic
  15. rule — government
  16. track — a path
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. rule — a law
  19. spell — a short time
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. mine — for digging
  24. can — a tin

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