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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. pop — to visit
  3. track — to keep track
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mug — a cup
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pop — soda
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. club — for golf
  11. drill — army training
  12. mug — to rob
  13. track — a path
  14. drill — the tool
  15. wind — moving air
  16. club — a group
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mug — a face
  20. club — for dancing
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pop — music
  24. track — a song

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