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

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. capital — a city
  6. track — a path
  7. content — happy
  8. kick — in football
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. track — a song
  19. content — the amount
  20. capital — money
  21. saw — the tool
  22. chest — a box
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. content — videos and posts

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