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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. fall — the season
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. hand — help
  7. face — to point toward
  8. face — to confront
  9. tube — a container
  10. cold — an illness
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. cold — not warm
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. face — part of the head
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — the underground
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. track — to keep track
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. track — a song

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