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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. content — the amount
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. court — for sport
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. track — to keep track
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. saw — the tool
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. content — happy
  18. kid — child
  19. track — a song
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. kid — to tease

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