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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. track — to keep track
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. track — a path
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. track — a song
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. capital — a city
  15. degree — temperature
  16. row — to paddle
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. toast — bread
  19. capital — money
  20. content — the amount
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. row — a line
  24. content — happy

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