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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. track — to keep track
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. tear — from crying
  7. spring — a coil
  8. root — of a plant
  9. wound — an injury
  10. present — a gift
  11. root — of a word
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spring — the season
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. present — there
  17. present — the time now
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pound — a weight
  20. tear — to rip
  21. track — a path
  22. root — the cause
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. spring — 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