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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. track — to keep track
  3. charge — electricity
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. degree — temperature
  6. track — a song
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. track — a path
  9. charge — a price
  10. vault — a safe
  11. degree — from a university
  12. charge — in control
  13. degree — an amount
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. tube — a container
  19. fall — the season
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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