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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. track — a path
  3. track — a song
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — in music
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. present — the time now
  9. track — to keep track
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — the amount
  12. scale — size or range
  13. tear — to rip
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. stock — goods
  16. tear — from crying
  17. sharp — clever
  18. content — happy
  19. present — a gift
  20. stock — shares
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. present — there
  24. stock — a soup base

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