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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. shower — to wash
  3. scale — size or range
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the sport
  9. content — the amount
  10. tube — a container
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. content — happy
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. scale — in music
  16. shower — rain
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. tube — the underground
  19. track — a song
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wake — a trail
  23. track — a path
  24. content — videos and posts

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