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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: cap · chip · fall · drill · bat · mug · track · bear

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chip — for betting
  5. mug — to rob
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. mug — a face
  11. bear — the animal
  12. mug — a cup
  13. fall — to drop
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. fall — to drop
  20. drill — army training
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fall — the season

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