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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. spell — letters
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. track — to keep track
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pound — a weight
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. stock — goods
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rush — hurry
  20. track — a path
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. stock — shares

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