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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. cell — a phone
  5. shower — rain
  6. track — a song
  7. scale — size or range
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. drill — a practice
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bear — the animal
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a path
  16. shower — to wash
  17. drill — the tool
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bear — the animal
  20. rash — hasty
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. rash — a series
  23. mark — a grade
  24. drill — army training

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