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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: leaves · object · game · cold · track · pound

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. 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. cold — not warm
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. cold — an illness
  4. track — a path
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. track — to keep track
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. object — to protest
  10. track — a song
  11. pound — a weight
  12. object — an aim
  13. game — a match
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. object — a thing
  18. 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