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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: craft · chest · bear · root · drill · track · date · rest

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. drill — the tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bear — the animal
  5. rest — what's left
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. root — the cause
  9. craft — a skill
  10. drill — a practice
  11. chest — a box
  12. rest — a break
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chest — of your body
  15. track — a path
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. rest — what's left
  20. drill — army training
  21. track — a song
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. craft — boats

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