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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. tear — from crying
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. track — a path
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. drill — a practice
  10. file — a line of people
  11. drill — the tool
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. track — a song
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. file — a document
  17. drill — army training
  18. wake — a trail
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. file — a tool
  23. field — for sport
  24. track — to keep track

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