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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: mark · cell · date · track · pitch · bay · kick · drill

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. drill — a practice
  4. track — to keep track
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. pitch — completely
  12. drill — the tool
  13. track — a song
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. mark — a trace
  16. drill — army training
  17. track — a path
  18. date — the fruit
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. kick — in football
  22. cell — in biology
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. mark — a grade

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