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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: board · march · bore · last · track · snap · file · tear

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. last — final
  3. board — a committee
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. march — the month
  6. last — finally
  7. track — a song
  8. bore — to tire
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. track — to keep track
  13. file — a document
  14. march — the month
  15. bore — to drill
  16. last — to go on
  17. tear — from crying
  18. snap — to click
  19. file — a line of people
  20. march — music
  21. file — a tool
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. board — to get on

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