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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. content — happy
  6. bear — the animal
  7. stock — shares
  8. track — a song
  9. object — an aim
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bear — the animal
  13. degree — from a university
  14. track — to keep track
  15. object — to protest
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. tear — from crying
  18. content — the amount
  19. degree — an amount
  20. tear — to rip
  21. saw — the tool
  22. tear — from crying
  23. degree — temperature
  24. object — a thing

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