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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mate — a partner
  3. dip — to sink
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. cold — not warm
  6. track — to keep track
  7. staff — employees
  8. track — a path
  9. drill — a practice
  10. mate — to breed
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. cap — a hat
  13. drill — the tool
  14. mate — a friend
  15. cap — of ice
  16. track — a song
  17. staff — a stick
  18. drill — army training
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. cap — a lid
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. cold — an illness
  24. staff — employees

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