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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 116 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. club — for golf
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. band — a ring
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — a group
  8. track — a song
  9. track — to keep track
  10. tear — from crying
  11. drill — a practice
  12. track — a path
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. sharp — clever
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. kid — child
  19. tear — from crying
  20. band — a music group
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. dip — to sink
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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