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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 120 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. tube — a container
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. cold — not warm
  5. tube — the underground
  6. track — to keep track
  7. season — in sport
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. season — of the year
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. cold — an illness
  24. track — a path

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