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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. bound — obliged
  4. track — a song
  5. track — a path
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bound — certain
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wake — a trail
  16. track — to keep track
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wound — an injury
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a music group
  22. bound — tied together
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — government

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