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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bank — of a river
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. track — a song
  6. fork — in a road
  7. clip — a video
  8. bank — for money
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. kid — child
  13. track — to keep track
  14. bank — for money
  15. rash — hasty
  16. kid — to tease
  17. rash — a series
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mate — a friend
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. track — a path

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