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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. season — of the year
  3. wound — an injury
  4. track — a path
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. season — in sport
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cold — not warm
  10. race — humankind
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. track — a song
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. track — to keep track
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. branch — of a bank

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