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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wake — a trail
  8. drill — the tool
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. track — a song
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. track — a path
  14. drill — army training
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. drill — a practice
  22. mate — a partner
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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