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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. root — of a plant
  3. root — of a word
  4. content — the amount
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. spell — magic
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. content — happy
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cold — an illness
  12. spell — letters
  13. track — to keep track
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — size or range
  17. track — a song
  18. pitch — completely
  19. cold — not warm
  20. root — the cause
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. hide — to keep secret

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