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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: foot · wind · track · key · cell · object · bat · pitcher

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — for a lock
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wind — moving air
  9. object — to protest
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. object — an aim
  14. wind — moving air
  15. foot — a measure
  16. key — in music
  17. track — a path
  18. object — a thing
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. track — a song
  22. cell — in biology
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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