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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bore — to drill
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. spring — a coil
  6. present — a gift
  7. hand — in cards
  8. spring — the season
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. track — a path
  12. present — the time now
  13. hand — help
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. spring — of water
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. present — there
  20. track — a song
  21. bore — to tire
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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