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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. track — a path
  3. wind — moving air
  4. track — a song
  5. track — to keep track
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. stock — shares
  10. mate — to breed
  11. ground — crushed
  12. content — the amount
  13. stock — goods
  14. file — a document
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mate — a partner
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. ground — a position
  19. file — a tool
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. file — a line of people
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mate — a friend
  24. content — happy

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