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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. squash — to crush
  3. key — in music
  4. wound — an injury
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. key — the most important part
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. mug — a face
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. wound — an injury
  13. key — for a lock
  14. track — to keep track
  15. squash — the sport
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. mug — to rob
  20. drill — a practice
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. track — a song
  24. mug — a cup

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