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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. toast — bread
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. rush — hurry
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a tool
  11. drill — army training
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. track — to keep track
  14. scale — size or range
  15. tear — from crying
  16. drill — the tool
  17. track — a path
  18. scale — in music
  19. file — a document
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. drill — a practice

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