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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 120 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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. content — happy
  3. tear — to rip
  4. root — of a word
  5. tear — from crying
  6. court — of a king
  7. content — the amount
  8. cell — in biology
  9. track — to keep track
  10. tear — from crying
  11. root — the cause
  12. cap — a lid
  13. court — for sport
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cap — a hat
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. track — a song
  21. cap — of ice
  22. court — of law
  23. track — a path
  24. root — of a plant

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