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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. kid — child
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. track — a path
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. rush — hurry
  11. content — the amount
  12. swing — music
  13. date — the fruit
  14. swing — in golf
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. kid — to tease
  20. track — a song
  21. swing — to play on
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. content — happy
  24. rush — a thrill

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