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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. swing — music
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. squash — the sport
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. squash — to crush
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. date — the fruit
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cue — a signal
  14. track — to keep track
  15. swing — to play on
  16. content — happy
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. cue — a hint
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. track — a song
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. cue — for pool
  24. swing — in golf

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