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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: jam · mate · wound · cold · track · branch · sharp · object

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. mate — a partner
  7. object — an aim
  8. mate — a friend
  9. track — to keep track
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. mate — to breed
  12. cold — not warm
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. object — a thing
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. cold — an illness
  18. track — a song
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. sharp — clever
  21. object — to protest
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. wound — an injury
  24. branch — a division

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