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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. track — to keep track
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. chest — a box
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. content — happy
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bark — to shout
  14. kick — in football
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. track — a path
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. content — the amount
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. chest — of your body
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. perch — the fish

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