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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. sharp — clever
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. degree — from a university
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. face — to point toward
  11. content — the amount
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. face — to confront
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. face — part of the head
  19. track — to keep track
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. content — happy
  22. degree — an amount
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. track — a song

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