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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. content — happy
  3. toast — bread
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. track — a song
  6. last — to go on
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. last — final
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. band — a ring
  16. track — to keep track
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. track — a path
  22. content — the amount
  23. dip — to sink
  24. last — finally

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