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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. drill — a practice
  3. scale — size or range
  4. drill — army training
  5. mug — a face
  6. wound — an injury
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. mug — a cup
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. mug — to rob
  15. shower — rain
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. drill — the tool
  19. wound — an injury
  20. shower — to wash
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. track — a song
  23. scale — in music
  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