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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: cue · track · cold · leaves · ground · stick · perch · toast

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. track — a path
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — a position
  10. track — to keep track
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cue — for pool
  15. toast — bread
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cue — a signal
  19. ground — the earth
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. track — a song
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. cue — a hint

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