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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. degree — from a university
  6. content — happy
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. track — to keep track
  9. degree — an amount
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. spell — magic
  12. perch — the fish
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. degree — temperature
  16. track — a song
  17. content — the amount
  18. spell — letters
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. spell — a short time
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. hide — to keep secret

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