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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: drill · track · toast · fall · spell · squash · root · sharp

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. squash — the sport
  3. toast — bread
  4. spell — letters
  5. root — the cause
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. root — of a word
  10. drill — army training
  11. fall — to drop
  12. squash — to crush
  13. fall — to drop
  14. track — to keep track
  15. drill — the tool
  16. track — a path
  17. drill — a practice
  18. track — a song
  19. fall — the season
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. root — of a plant

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