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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. kid — to tease
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. track — a path
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. net — after costs
  11. content — happy
  12. bear — the animal
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. dip — to sink
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. net — in sport
  18. kid — child
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. track — to keep track
  22. net — for catching
  23. bear — the animal
  24. track — a song

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