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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. content — the amount
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. ground — crushed
  6. wind — moving air
  7. track — to keep track
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. ground — the earth
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. content — happy
  16. ground — a position
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. track — a song
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. deal — to handle
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. deal — a big deal

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