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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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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: cold · ground · pit · tube · last · spell · track · stand

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. track — to keep track
  4. spell — magic
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. tube — a container
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. spell — letters
  9. ground — crushed
  10. spell — a short time
  11. ground — a position
  12. last — final
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pit — a hole
  15. last — finally
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. cold — an illness
  18. track — a song
  19. track — a path
  20. last — to go on
  21. pit — in a race
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — the underground
  24. stand — to bear

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