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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. pit — a hole
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. pit — in a race
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bank — for money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. track — a song
  12. capital — money
  13. bank — for money
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ground — the earth
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. capital — a city
  18. content — the amount
  19. ground — a position
  20. content — happy
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bank — of a river
  24. ground — crushed

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