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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a path
  3. lean — to bend
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bank — of a river
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. march — music
  9. lean — thin
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. march — the month
  13. track — a song
  14. march — the month
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bank — for money
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bank — for money
  23. wake — a trail
  24. hide — to keep secret

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