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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. cold — not warm
  6. track — a path
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. squash — to crush
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — hasty
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. squash — the sport
  17. fall — to drop
  18. last — to go on
  19. cold — an illness
  20. track — a song
  21. fall — to drop
  22. last — finally
  23. last — final
  24. track — to keep track

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