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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. content — the amount
  3. track — a path
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. season — of the year
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. wound — an injury
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. cap — a hat
  14. wound — an injury
  15. content — happy
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a lid
  18. vault — a safe
  19. season — in sport
  20. prune — to trim
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. track — to keep track
  24. prune — to trim

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