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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bass — low music
  4. rash — hasty
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. tear — from crying
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. tear — to rip
  10. track — to keep track
  11. clip — a video
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. tear — from crying
  14. clip — for paper
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. rash — a series
  19. clip — to cut
  20. track — a song
  21. perch — the fish
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bass — the fish
  24. rash — on the skin

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