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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. lie — to recline
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. content — the amount
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. branch — a division
  11. track — a path
  12. clip — to cut
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. content — happy
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. track — a song
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wind — moving air

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