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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: mark · cold · ground · tube · snap · track · dip · present

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. present — there
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mark — a grade
  7. ground — crushed
  8. dip — to sink
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to click
  11. present — a gift
  12. track — a path
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. tube — the underground
  17. track — a song
  18. ground — the earth
  19. present — the time now
  20. tube — a container
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. ground — a position
  23. track — to keep track
  24. mark — a trace

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