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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. wind — moving air
  3. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. spell — letters
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. roll — a list
  8. track — a song
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. mate — to breed
  11. rock — a stone
  12. spell — magic
  13. mate — a partner
  14. roll — a cake
  15. drill — the tool
  16. spell — a short time
  17. track — a path
  18. track — to keep track
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. rock — music
  21. mate — a friend
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. drill — army training
  24. wind — moving air

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