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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: pit · cold · kid · bark · cue · track · fall · board

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. cue — a hint
  4. track — a song
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pit — in a race
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fall — the season
  11. bark — to shout
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. track — a path
  15. kid — child
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. track — to keep track
  23. pit — a hole
  24. board — to get on

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