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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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468
Word bank
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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. can — a tin
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cold — an illness
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. can — to be able to
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. saw — the tool
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. can — a tin
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. snap — to click
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. racket — a loud noise
  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