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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a song
  4. cap — of ice
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. kid — child
  10. content — happy
  11. bound — tied together
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bound — certain
  14. cap — a lid
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. track — a path
  17. sharp — clever
  18. scale — in music
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bound — obliged
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cap — a hat
  24. scale — size or range

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