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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. mug — a face
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. track — a path
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. clip — for paper
  14. deal — to handle
  15. capital — money
  16. content — happy
  17. capital — a city
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. clip — to cut
  20. track — a song
  21. content — the amount
  22. clip — a video
  23. mug — to rob
  24. mug — a cup

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