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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: track · cold · lean · foot · mug · pop · rule · pitch

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. lean — to bend
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mug — to rob
  7. track — a path
  8. track — a song
  9. pop — soda
  10. rule — a law
  11. pop — music
  12. mug — a face
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. foot — a measure
  16. rule — government
  17. track — to keep track
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pitch — completely
  21. mug — a cup
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. lean — thin

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