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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. kid — to tease
  6. track — a song
  7. bore — to drill
  8. pass — a permit
  9. bore — to tire
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. file — a line of people
  12. scale — size or range
  13. track — to keep track
  14. shower — rain
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. file — a document
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. track — a path
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. kid — child
  24. scale — in music

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