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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: track · leaves · sharp · cold · pound · swing · hand · bear

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. swing — music
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. track — to keep track
  5. hand — help
  6. sharp — clever
  7. cold — not warm
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. track — a song
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bear — the animal
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. track — a path
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. cold — an illness
  21. hand — in cards
  22. pound — a weight
  23. swing — in golf
  24. leaves — lets stay

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