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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. drill — army training
  5. fork — in a road
  6. shower — rain
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. net — in sport
  9. shower — to wash
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. net — after costs
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. track — a path
  22. track — to keep track
  23. net — for catching
  24. rash — a series

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