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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. key — in music
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bark — to shout
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. track — a path
  9. key — for a lock
  10. last — to go on
  11. key — the most important part
  12. saw — the tool
  13. track — to keep track
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. drill — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. track — a song
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. cell — in biology
  24. drill — a practice

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