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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. track — a song
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. stock — shares
  7. spring — the season
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. track — a path
  10. stock — goods
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. spring — a coil
  13. perch — the fish
  14. rash — a series
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. content — the amount
  18. spring — of water
  19. rash — hasty
  20. content — happy
  21. track — to keep track
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mouse — the animal

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