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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a path
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mate — a partner
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. race — humankind
  10. content — the amount
  11. degree — an amount
  12. race — a contest
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. race — the arms race
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. degree — temperature
  17. mate — to breed
  18. degree — from a university
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. content — happy
  23. foot — a measure
  24. track — a song

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