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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. hand — help
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. land — to come down
  5. content — happy
  6. track — to keep track
  7. content — the amount
  8. track — a path
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. land — ground
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. land — a country
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — the fruit
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bass — low music
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — for money
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bank — of a river
  23. hand — part of the body
  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