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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 116 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 · tear · net · last · pop · lie · snap

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. lie — to recline
  3. pop — to visit
  4. snap — to click
  5. tear — to rip
  6. drill — the tool
  7. net — for catching
  8. track — to keep track
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pop — soda
  13. track — a path
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. pop — music
  16. net — in sport
  17. last — final
  18. net — after costs
  19. track — a song
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. last — finally
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. tear — from crying

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