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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wound — an injury
  5. track — a path
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. last — finally
  10. content — the amount
  11. cue — for pool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cue — a signal
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. last — final
  17. content — happy
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. track — to keep track
  20. last — to go on
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. cue — a hint

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