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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mug · track · cold · wave · leaves · chest · bark · row

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. track — a song
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. mug — a cup
  9. mug — to rob
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cold — not warm
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. row — a line
  18. track — a path
  19. chest — a box
  20. bark — to shout
  21. track — to keep track
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. mug — a face
  24. leaves — to go away

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