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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. key — the most important part
  3. drill — the tool
  4. kid — child
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. drill — a practice
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. key — for a lock
  10. ground — a position
  11. file — a line of people
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bear — the animal
  14. ground — the earth
  15. tear — from crying
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. tear — from crying
  18. file — a tool
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bear — the animal
  21. key — in music
  22. file — a document
  23. tear — to rip
  24. kid — to tease

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