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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. tear — from crying
  7. track — a song
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. rash — a series
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. hand — help
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. rash — hasty
  23. track — a path
  24. hand — part of the body

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