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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 116 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  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. bore — to tire
  2. present — a gift
  3. track — to keep track
  4. spell — magic
  5. rock — music
  6. present — the time now
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. bore — to drill
  10. rock — a stone
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. file — a line of people
  13. shower — rain
  14. spell — a short time
  15. track — a song
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. spell — letters
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. present — there
  21. file — a document
  22. pass — a permit
  23. track — a path
  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