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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. content — the amount
  3. march — the month
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. track — a path
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. roll — a list
  8. spring — the season
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. spring — of water
  11. roll — a cake
  12. march — music
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. content — happy
  19. clip — for paper
  20. track — a song
  21. march — the month
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. track — to keep track

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