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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 120 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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bore — to drill
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bore — to tire
  6. deal — to handle
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bark — to shout
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. court — for sport
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. track — a path
  17. chest — of your body
  18. track — a song
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. chest — a box
  21. game — a match
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. chest — of your body

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