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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 120 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. ground — crushed
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — the amount
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. field — farmland
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bore — to tire
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. content — happy
  14. ground — a position
  15. track — a path
  16. rash — a series
  17. field — a subject
  18. track — to keep track
  19. tube — a container
  20. bore — to drill
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. rash — hasty
  23. field — for sport
  24. tube — the underground

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