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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 120 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. season — in sport
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. season — of the year
  5. wind — moving air
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. fork — in a road
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. stand — to bear
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. track — a path
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ground — crushed
  14. track — a song
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. content — the amount
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. content — happy
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. saw — the tool

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