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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. club — a group
  4. drill — army training
  5. bound — certain
  6. rash — a series
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. track — a path
  11. wind — moving air
  12. track — to keep track
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rash — hasty
  16. club — for golf
  17. bound — obliged
  18. club — for dancing
  19. wind — moving air
  20. drill — a practice
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bound — tied together
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bat — the animal

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