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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. content — happy
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cap — a lid
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. content — the amount
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. track — a song
  13. track — to keep track
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. perch — the fish
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. cap — of ice
  23. plane — a tool
  24. cap — a hat

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