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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. scale — size or range
  4. drill — army training
  5. track — a song
  6. track — a path
  7. file — a document
  8. track — to keep track
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. file — a tool
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. rash — hasty
  14. scale — in music
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. rash — a series
  18. fork — in a road
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. file — a line of people
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the 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