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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. snap — to click
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. file — a document
  8. track — a path
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. file — a tool
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bore — to tire
  13. court — of law
  14. bore — to drill
  15. prune — to trim
  16. file — a line of people
  17. track — a song
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — to eat
  21. court — for sport
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. prune — to trim
  24. court — of a king

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