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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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. march — the month
  3. charge — electricity
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. hand — in cards
  6. track — a path
  7. land — ground
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. file — a document
  11. land — to come down
  12. track — to keep track
  13. file — a tool
  14. hand — help
  15. tear — from crying
  16. file — a line of people
  17. land — a country
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. tear — from crying
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. tear — to rip
  22. charge — in control
  23. charge — a price
  24. track — a song

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