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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. lie — to recline
  3. track — to keep track
  4. rest — what's left
  5. saw — the tool
  6. file — a tool
  7. track — a path
  8. drill — a practice
  9. root — of a plant
  10. file — a document
  11. root — of a word
  12. track — a song
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. rest — a break
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wound — an injury
  19. root — the cause
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. drill — the tool
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. lie — an untruth

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