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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 116 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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. track — to keep track
  3. firm — a company
  4. game — wild animals
  5. clip — for paper
  6. present — a gift
  7. content — the amount
  8. game — a match
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. present — there
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. present — the time now
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. swing — in golf
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. wake — a trail
  19. content — happy
  20. firm — steady
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. track — a song
  23. track — a path
  24. swing — music

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