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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. march — the month
  5. land — a country
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. mug — a cup
  8. land — to come down
  9. march — music
  10. mug — a face
  11. track — a path
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. march — the month
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. track — a song
  16. current — of water
  17. cold — an illness
  18. track — to keep track
  19. content — the amount
  20. mug — to rob
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — electric
  23. content — happy
  24. land — ground

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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