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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: track · mark · file · rule · pit · plane · tear · drill

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — a hole
  3. tear — from crying
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. tear — from crying
  6. track — a song
  7. tear — to rip
  8. drill — the tool
  9. file — a document
  10. plane — a tool
  11. track — to keep track
  12. drill — army training
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mark — a trace
  17. pit — in a race
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — government
  20. track — a path
  21. file — a tool
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. drill — a practice
  24. mark — a grade

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