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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bear — the animal
  3. track — to keep track
  4. fork — in a road
  5. march — the month
  6. bear — the animal
  7. fall — the season
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. content — the amount
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cell — a phone
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fall — to drop
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. cell — in biology
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. track — a song
  24. track — a path

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