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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: cold · track · mark · last · game · kid · cap · bound

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. game — wild animals
  5. mark — a grade
  6. bound — obliged
  7. last — finally
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. track — a song
  12. track — a path
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. game — a match
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. last — to go on
  19. track — to keep track
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. mark — a trace
  24. last — final

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