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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bore — to drill
  4. file — a tool
  5. stand — to bear
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — a series
  8. file — a document
  9. track — a path
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. clip — a video
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bore — to tire
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. file — a line of people
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wind — moving air
  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