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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: tear · pit · current · track · sharp · ground · swing · drill

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a path
  4. current — happening now
  5. tear — from crying
  6. drill — the tool
  7. sharp — clever
  8. swing — music
  9. current — electric
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. ground — a position
  12. swing — to play on
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. swing — in golf
  16. drill — a practice
  17. pit — in a race
  18. current — of water
  19. tear — from crying
  20. track — a song
  21. tear — to rip
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pit — a hole
  24. drill — army training

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