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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: scale · track · kick · wind · wound · rash · face · wake

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. track — to keep track
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. track — a song
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. face — to point toward
  7. scale — in music
  8. face — to confront
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. track — a path
  18. wake — a trail
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kick — in football
  21. rash — a series
  22. wound — an injury
  23. face — part of the head
  24. scale — size or range

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