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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. track — a song
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. ground — the earth
  5. drill — a practice
  6. content — happy
  7. present — the time now
  8. track — to keep track
  9. drill — army training
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. content — the amount
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. track — a path
  16. ground — a position
  17. present — a gift
  18. land — to come down
  19. ground — crushed
  20. drill — the tool
  21. land — ground
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. present — there
  24. land — a country

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