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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. track — a path
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. wound — an injury
  7. content — happy
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. fall — to drop
  10. track — to keep track
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. track — a song
  14. vault — a safe
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bay — to keep at bay

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