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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. file — a document
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. file — a line of people
  5. sharp — clever
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. file — a tool
  12. track — to keep track
  13. drill — a practice
  14. track — a song
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. pop — soda
  19. drill — army training
  20. track — a path
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — to handle
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — to visit

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