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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: mark · track · pit · game · roll · rock · chest · capital

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. capital — money
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. pit — a hole
  7. capital — a city
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rock — a stone
  10. roll — a cake
  11. track — a song
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. track — to keep track
  15. mark — a grade
  16. track — a path
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. game — wild animals
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pit — in a race
  23. rock — music
  24. game — a match

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