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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. track — to keep track
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. rule — government
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. wind — moving air
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. track — a path
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. rule — a law
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wind — moving air
  21. dip — to sink
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. track — a song

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