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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · trunk · row · cap · pitcher · track · straw · drill

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. row — to paddle
  4. track — a path
  5. drill — the tool
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. track — a song
  12. wind — moving air
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. drill — a practice
  15. row — a line
  16. wind — moving air
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a lid
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. drill — army training

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