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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. track — a path
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. scale — in music
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to drill
  11. squash — the sport
  12. rush — hurry
  13. squash — to crush
  14. track — a song
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. file — a document
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. file — a line of people
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bore — to tire
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. file — a tool

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