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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bear — the animal
  4. tube — the underground
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. toast — bread
  7. field — a subject
  8. cold — an illness
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. cold — not warm
  14. field — farmland
  15. object — a thing
  16. field — for sport
  17. tube — a container
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bear — the animal
  20. object — to protest
  21. track — a song
  22. track — a path
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. cold — the Cold War

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