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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. tube — a container
  3. track — to keep track
  4. cold — not warm
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. mark — a trace
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bass — the fish
  11. mark — a grade
  12. track — a path
  13. saw — the tool
  14. tube — the underground
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bass — low music
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. object — a thing
  20. cold — an illness
  21. object — an aim
  22. object — to protest
  23. track — a song
  24. bass — the instrument

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