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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. spell — letters
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. tear — to rip
  5. root — the cause
  6. spell — magic
  7. track — a song
  8. root — of a word
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. root — of a plant
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cue — a signal
  15. spell — a short time
  16. cue — for pool
  17. track — a path
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. tear — from crying
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. cue — a hint
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. sharp — clever
  24. tear — from crying

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