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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. drill — a practice
  3. rest — a break
  4. mate — a friend
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. field — farmland
  7. rest — what's left
  8. last — to go on
  9. snap — to click
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. mate — to breed
  13. drill — army training
  14. mate — a partner
  15. drill — the tool
  16. field — for sport
  17. rest — what's left
  18. field — a subject
  19. track — a path
  20. rash — hasty
  21. last — final
  22. rash — a series
  23. last — finally
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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