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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — to keep track
  3. stand — to bear
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. spring — of water
  7. mug — a cup
  8. roll — a cake
  9. spring — a coil
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. spring — the season
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. mug — to rob
  19. kid — to tease
  20. track — a song
  21. roll — a list
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. mug — a face

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