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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: spell · swing · cold · wake · face · court · track · nail

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. track — a song
  3. swing — in golf
  4. track — to keep track
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. court — of law
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cold — not warm
  12. spell — letters
  13. face — to point toward
  14. swing — music
  15. court — for sport
  16. track — a path
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wake — a trail
  20. face — to confront
  21. court — of a king
  22. cold — an illness
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. nail — for a hammer

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