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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pound — a weight
  4. track — to keep track
  5. branch — a division
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bulb — for light
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. track — a song
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bark — to shout
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bulb — for light
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pound — for dogs

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