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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a song
  5. land — to come down
  6. lean — thin
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. land — ground
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. land — a country
  16. squash — the sport
  17. file — a line of people
  18. squash — to crush
  19. lean — to bend
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. content — happy
  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