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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 116 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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. drill — a practice
  3. file — a tool
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. wound — an injury
  7. drill — the tool
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bark — to shout
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. file — a line of people
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wound — an injury
  14. clip — a video
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. file — a document
  20. clip — for paper
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. track — a song
  23. drill — army training
  24. track — a path

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