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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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Word bank
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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: present · cell · track · mine · cold · ruler

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cell — a phone
  3. present — a gift
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. present — there
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. track — to keep track
  10. cold — not warm
  11. present — the time now
  12. track — a path
  13. track — a song
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cold — an illness

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