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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. track — a song
  4. track — to keep track
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. tube — a container
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. season — of the year
  9. track — a path
  10. tube — the underground
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. cold — an illness
  14. season — in sport
  15. mate — to breed
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. mate — a partner
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. mate — a friend
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. cold — the Cold War

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