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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: pound · stand · scale · mug · hand · cold · leaves · track

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. mug — a face
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. track — a song
  6. scale — in music
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. pound — a weight
  10. stand — to bear
  11. track — a path
  12. cold — an illness
  13. scale — size or range
  14. cold — not warm
  15. hand — in cards
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mug — a cup
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. hand — help
  22. track — to keep track
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. mug — to rob

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