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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: wind · track · mug · present · wound · wake · chip · kick

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mug — a face
  4. track — a song
  5. kick — in football
  6. wound — an injury
  7. track — a path
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chip — for betting
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. mug — a cup
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. present — a gift
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. present — the time now
  19. mug — to rob
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. chip — to eat
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. present — there

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