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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: kid · pit · stick · hand · straw · dip · bound · track

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. track — to keep track
  3. hand — help
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. track — a path
  8. hand — in cards
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. pit — in a race
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. kid — child
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — tied together
  19. track — a song
  20. bound — certain
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pit — a hole
  23. kid — to tease
  24. dip — to sink

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