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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a song
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. mate — a partner
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. track — a path
  8. clip — for paper
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. current — happening now
  13. clip — a video
  14. mate — to breed
  15. hand — help
  16. mate — a friend
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. hand — in cards
  19. current — of water
  20. current — electric
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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