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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: cap · track · suit · rock · cold · bat · leaves · can

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. can — a tin
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cap — a lid
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. cap — a hat
  9. track — a path
  10. rock — a stone
  11. cap — of ice
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cold — an illness
  14. can — to be able to
  15. suit — in cards
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cold — not warm
  18. track — to keep track
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. can — a tin
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. suit — to fit
  23. suit — clothes
  24. track — a song

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