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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. tube — a container
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. tube — the underground
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. track — a song
  7. rule — a law
  8. current — happening now
  9. row — a line
  10. rule — government
  11. current — electric
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. row — to paddle
  19. track — a path
  20. track — to keep track
  21. date — the fruit
  22. wake — a trail
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. current — of water

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