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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: kid · track · land · bear · deal · nail · last · rule

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. track — to keep track
  3. last — finally
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. land — ground
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. bear — the animal
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — government
  14. kid — child
  15. track — a song
  16. bear — the animal
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. land — a country
  19. kid — to tease
  20. deal — to handle
  21. track — a path
  22. last — final
  23. land — to come down
  24. bear — to put up with

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