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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 116 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. content — happy
  3. track — to keep track
  4. kid — child
  5. ground — a position
  6. track — a path
  7. capital — money
  8. staff — a stick
  9. court — for sport
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. court — of law
  12. staff — employees
  13. sharp — clever
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ground — the earth
  16. capital — a city
  17. court — of a king
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. staff — employees
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. ground — crushed
  24. content — the amount

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