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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. spell — letters
  4. track — a song
  5. track — a path
  6. field — a subject
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. spell — a short time
  9. content — the amount
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. content — happy
  12. spell — magic
  13. present — there
  14. field — farmland
  15. track — to keep track
  16. kick — in football
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — the time now
  19. wake — a trail
  20. field — for sport
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. kick — with a leg

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