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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bear — the animal
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — an aim
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. track — a path
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bear — the animal
  12. fall — the season
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cold — not warm
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. mine — for digging
  20. object — a thing
  21. track — to keep track
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fall — to drop
  24. chair — a leader

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