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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: bay · chest · track · bat · kid · bark · toast · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. club — for dancing
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. kid — child
  11. track — a song
  12. toast — bread
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. track — a path
  17. chest — a box
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. bark — to shout
  21. track — to keep track
  22. chest — of your body
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. bat — the animal

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