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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 116 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: leaves · cap · pound · bear · cold · fan · squash · track

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. track — a path
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cap — of ice
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pound — a weight
  19. cold — an illness
  20. track — to keep track
  21. cap — a hat
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. track — a song
  24. cap — a lid

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