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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: track · mug · kid · fork · cold · wake · shower · toast

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mug — a face
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. kid — child
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mug — a cup
  9. track — a path
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. wake — a trail
  14. mug — to rob
  15. kid — to tease
  16. track — a song
  17. track — to keep track
  18. fork — in a road
  19. toast — bread
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. cold — not warm
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. shower — to wash

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