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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: mark · trunk · bound · march · cold · mine · calf · track

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. mine — for digging
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. track — to keep track
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. track — a path
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. track — a song
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. cold — an illness
  16. mark — a grade
  17. march — the month
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. march — music
  21. bound — obliged
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. march — the month
  24. mine — belonging to me

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