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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. track — to keep track
  3. cap — a hat
  4. tear — to rip
  5. hand — in cards
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. track — a song
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. foot — a measure
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. track — a path
  12. roll — a cake
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. cap — of ice
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. cap — a lid
  19. tear — from crying
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. tear — from crying
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. roll — a list

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