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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. track — a path
  4. spring — the season
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bore — to tire
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. bore — to drill
  16. degree — from a university
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track
  19. spring — a coil
  20. land — ground
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. spring — of water
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — temperature

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