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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. last — final
  3. row — to paddle
  4. track — to keep track
  5. drill — army training
  6. hand — help
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. drill — a practice
  10. row — a line
  11. track — a song
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. track — a path
  14. mark — a trace
  15. drill — the tool
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. hand — in cards
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. mark — a grade
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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