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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: pop · date · chest · kid · bound · roll · rash · track

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. roll — a list
  3. bound — tied together
  4. track — a song
  5. kid — to tease
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bound — obliged
  8. pop — soda
  9. bound — certain
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. date — the fruit
  13. chest — of your body
  14. roll — a cake
  15. kid — child
  16. rash — hasty
  17. track — to keep track
  18. pop — to visit
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. track — a path
  22. chest — a box
  23. rash — a series
  24. chest — of your body

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