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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. staff — a stick
  3. shower — to wash
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. track — a path
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. mark — a grade
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. field — farmland
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. shower — rain
  13. field — a subject
  14. content — the amount
  15. staff — employees
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. track — to keep track
  18. staff — employees
  19. field — for sport
  20. track — a song
  21. content — happy
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mark — a trace

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