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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. tube — a container
  3. rash — hasty
  4. track — a path
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. band — a ring
  8. ground — crushed
  9. track — to keep track
  10. content — the amount
  11. last — final
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. content — happy
  14. ground — the earth
  15. band — a music group
  16. last — to go on
  17. rash — a series
  18. tube — the underground
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. track — a song
  23. ground — a position
  24. last — finally

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