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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 116 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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. cold — an illness
  4. track — a path
  5. mug — a face
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. tube — the underground
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. chair — a leader
  15. mug — to rob
  16. fall — to drop
  17. mug — a cup
  18. cold — not warm
  19. vault — a safe
  20. track — a song
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. tube — a container
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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