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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. tear — from crying
  3. track — to keep track
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. chip — to eat
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chip — for betting
  8. tear — to rip
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. race — a contest
  13. bulb — for light
  14. track — a song
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. track — a path
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cold — an illness

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