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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: kick · cold · band · track · race · nail · leaves · ground

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. band — a ring
  3. track — a path
  4. race — the arms race
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. ground — a position
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. kick — in football
  10. track — to keep track
  11. cold — not warm
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. ground — the earth
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. track — a song
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. band — a music group
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cold — an illness
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. race — humankind
  23. ground — crushed
  24. race — a contest

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