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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. cap — a lid
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. kid — to tease
  6. track — a song
  7. content — happy
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. branch — a division
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. cap — a hat
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — there
  15. chair — a leader
  16. content — the amount
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. kid — child
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. cap — of ice
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. present — the time now
  24. track — to keep track

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