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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. tube — the underground
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. track — a song
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. fork — in a road
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. face — to point toward
  9. row — a line
  10. row — to paddle
  11. tube — a container
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. content — happy
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. content — the amount
  20. face — part of the head
  21. track — a path
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. face — to confront
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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