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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a path
  4. shower — to wash
  5. content — happy
  6. pop — soda
  7. content — the amount
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — certain
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bound — obliged
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. track — a song
  23. shower — rain
  24. calf — of the leg

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