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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. tear — from crying
  3. track — a path
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. tear — to rip
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. cold — an illness
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. bark — to shout
  16. pop — soda
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pop — music
  20. track — a song
  21. track — to keep track
  22. land — to come down
  23. cold — not warm
  24. tear — from crying

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