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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. sharp — clever
  3. drill — the tool
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. tube — the underground
  6. drill — army training
  7. kid — child
  8. track — a song
  9. band — a ring
  10. track — a path
  11. tube — a container
  12. rock — music
  13. rock — a stone
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. prune — to trim
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. drill — a practice
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. prune — to trim
  23. track — to keep track
  24. band — a music group

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