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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  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. club — for dancing
  3. stock — goods
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. saw — the tool
  7. track — a song
  8. drill — army training
  9. saw — the tool
  10. track — a path
  11. drill — a practice
  12. degree — from a university
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. degree — temperature
  15. snap — to click
  16. hand — in cards
  17. club — a group
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. drill — the tool
  21. hand — help
  22. club — for golf
  23. degree — an amount
  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