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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. content — the amount
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. ground — the earth
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fall — to drop
  15. content — happy
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. ground — a position
  18. fall — to drop
  19. track — a path
  20. track — a song
  21. deal — to handle
  22. ground — crushed
  23. tear — to rip
  24. fall — the season

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