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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: wound · tube · track · chest · leaves · bear · last · rest

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. track — a song
  3. last — final
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. tube — a container
  9. track — a path
  10. last — finally
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. chest — a box
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. track — to keep track
  16. rest — a break
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. rest — what's left
  19. last — to go on
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. tube — the underground
  24. chest — of your body

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