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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. firm — steady
  5. content — the amount
  6. track — to keep track
  7. wake — a trail
  8. cell — a phone
  9. row — a line
  10. spring — the season
  11. kid — to tease
  12. spring — a coil
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. firm — decided
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. spring — of water
  17. track — a song
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. content — happy
  21. kid — child
  22. firm — a company
  23. row — to paddle
  24. track — a path

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