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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. rash — hasty
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cue — a hint
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. face — part of the head
  9. track — a song
  10. clip — a video
  11. spell — a short time
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. track — to keep track
  14. face — to confront
  15. clip — to cut
  16. face — to point toward
  17. drill — the tool
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — magic
  20. clip — for paper
  21. rash — a series
  22. track — a path
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — for pool

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