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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 120 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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. track — to keep track
  3. saw — the tool
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. track — a song
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chip — to eat
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. track — a path
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — for betting
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. drill — army training
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wind — moving air
  18. drill — a practice
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. calf — of the leg

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