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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. saw — the tool
  3. track — to keep track
  4. rock — music
  5. pound — a weight
  6. track — a path
  7. content — happy
  8. court — for sport
  9. content — the amount
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. saw — the tool
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rock — a stone
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. deal — to handle
  18. track — a song
  19. court — of law
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — a container
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. court — of a king
  24. pound — for dogs

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