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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: ground · date · racket · kid · mate · arm · tear · track

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mate — a partner
  10. track — a song
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. track — to keep track
  13. ground — crushed
  14. track — a path
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. mate — to breed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mate — a friend
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. ground — a position
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. tear — to rip
  24. date — the fruit

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