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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: foot · track · shower · mine · drill · perch · fork · tear

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — a practice
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. tear — from crying
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. drill — the tool
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. track — to keep track
  12. shower — rain
  13. tear — from crying
  14. track — a path
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. fork — in a road
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. foot — a measure
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. tear — to rip
  23. shower — to wash
  24. track — a song

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