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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: track · straw · tear · racket · game · arm · lie · coach

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. game — wild animals
  4. tear — from crying
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. track — a song
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. tear — from crying
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. game — a match
  14. lie — to recline
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. track — a path
  19. tear — to rip
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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