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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: bay · band · rock · saw · drill · track · rush · bat

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bat — the animal
  4. drill — army training
  5. saw — the tool
  6. band — a ring
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rock — a stone
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. rock — music
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. rush — hurry
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. track — a song
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. drill — the tool
  22. band — a music group
  23. drill — a practice
  24. track — a path

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