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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: bear · race · track · row · present · drill · saw · rush

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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. bear — the animal
  4. drill — the tool
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. track — a song
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. present — the time now
  9. drill — a practice
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. drill — army training
  12. track — to keep track
  13. present — there
  14. saw — the tool
  15. present — a gift
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — the arms race
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bear — the animal
  21. race — humankind
  22. row — a line
  23. track — a path
  24. rush — hurry

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