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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. wake — a trail
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cold — an illness
  4. track — a path
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. lean — thin
  8. cap — of ice
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. march — the month
  12. cap — a lid
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. track — to keep track
  15. march — music
  16. track — a song
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. lean — to bend
  19. pound — a weight
  20. march — the month
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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