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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: rush · rest · game · last · track · wake · cap · wound

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. last — to go on
  3. wake — a trail
  4. cap — of ice
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wound — an injury
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. track — a song
  13. last — finally
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — a hat
  16. track — a path
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. game — a match
  23. last — final
  24. wound — an injury

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