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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. track — a path
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. present — the time now
  7. ground — the earth
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. present — there
  10. track — a song
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. hand — in cards
  14. present — a gift
  15. track — to keep track
  16. drill — the tool
  17. tube — a container
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. ground — a position
  20. drill — army training
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. tube — the underground
  24. hand — help

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