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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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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: band · kid · track · game · mark · charge · chest · pit

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mark — a grade
  3. chest — of your body
  4. charge — electricity
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pit — a hole
  8. game — a match
  9. track — a path
  10. game — wild animals
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. charge — in control
  13. pit — in a race
  14. mark — a trace
  15. kid — to tease
  16. charge — a price
  17. track — a song
  18. kid — child
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. band — a music group
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. track — to keep track

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