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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: cell · roll · jam · track · cold · pound · lash · wind

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. track — a path
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. track — to keep track
  13. cold — an illness
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. cell — in biology
  17. roll — a list
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. roll — a cake
  21. cell — a phone
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. wind — moving air

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