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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  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 path
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. content — the amount
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fall — the season
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. track — to keep track
  12. court — of a king
  13. pitch — completely
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. fall — to drop
  16. content — happy
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. court — of law
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. court — for sport
  21. bass — the fish
  22. track — a song
  23. bass — low music
  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