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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. hand — in cards
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. cold — an illness
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. track — a song
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fork — in a road
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. track — a path
  13. track — to keep track
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. hand — help
  21. bear — the animal
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. bear — the animal

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