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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: track · cold · pound · tear · fan · bear

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. track — a path
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. track — a song
  9. bear — the animal
  10. tear — to rip
  11. track — to keep track
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bear — the animal

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