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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: fine · fall · pound · mark · track · march · bear · cold

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. track — a song
  3. fine — all right
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mark — a trace
  6. bear — the animal
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. march — the month
  11. cold — not warm
  12. march — music
  13. fine — high quality
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. track — to keep track
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. track — a path
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pound — a weight
  20. fall — to drop
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. mark — to pay attention

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