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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. ground — crushed
  3. track — to keep track
  4. cold — an illness
  5. content — happy
  6. ground — the earth
  7. shower — to wash
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. cold — not warm
  10. kick — in football
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. shower — rain
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. content — the amount
  16. ground — a position
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. track — a path
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to click
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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