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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — to keep track
  3. last — to go on
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. hand — in cards
  7. rock — a stone
  8. track — a song
  9. last — finally
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — final
  15. hand — help
  16. deal — to handle
  17. rock — music
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. content — happy
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. deal — an agreement

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