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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: tear · bear · key · coach · rest · wound · shower · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. key — the most important part
  3. track — a song
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. track — a path
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rest — a break
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. key — in music
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bear — the animal
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bear — the animal
  18. shower — rain
  19. tear — to rip
  20. key — for a lock
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. shower — to wash
  24. coach — a trainer

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