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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cold — an illness
  9. ground — the earth
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. track — to keep track
  12. ground — a position
  13. wake — a trail
  14. ground — crushed
  15. rock — a stone
  16. track — a song
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. rock — music
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. track — a path
  24. cold — not warm

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