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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: key · patient · bowl · kid · fall · object · cap · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. object — to protest
  4. kid — child
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. key — the most important part
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. key — in music
  10. track — a song
  11. key — for a lock
  12. cap — a lid
  13. object — a thing
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — of ice
  17. object — an aim
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fall — the season
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. track — a path

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