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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. game — a match
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wake — a trail
  5. drill — the tool
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. prune — to trim
  9. track — a path
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. staff — a stick
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. row — a line
  17. track — a song
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. drill — a practice
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — employees
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. track — to keep track
  24. row — to paddle

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