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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: straw · track · arm · jam · kid · swing · fall · net

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. fall — the season
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. swing — music
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — in sport
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. swing — to play on
  10. kid — to tease
  11. track — a path
  12. net — after costs
  13. fall — to drop
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. fall — to drop
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. track — a song
  22. swing — in golf
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — child

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