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

Word bank: mine · fine · perch · chest · track · tear · cell · drill

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. track — a song
  6. drill — a practice
  7. perch — the fish
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. track — a path
  10. fine — high quality
  11. cell — in biology
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. track — to keep track
  14. tear — to rip
  15. drill — army training
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. drill — the tool
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cell — a phone
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fine — all right

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