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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pit — a hole
  3. last — final
  4. track — a path
  5. last — finally
  6. kid — child
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. present — a gift
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mark — a grade
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. mark — a trace
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. kid — to tease
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. track — a song
  19. track — to keep track
  20. pit — in a race
  21. present — there
  22. present — the time now
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. last — to go on

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