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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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. tear — to rip
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. club — a group
  5. current — happening now
  6. mine — for digging
  7. tear — from crying
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. current — of water
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. track — a path
  12. tear — from crying
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bark — to shout
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. club — for golf
  21. current — electric
  22. track — a song
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bark — of a tree

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