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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. sharp — clever
  3. spell — a short time
  4. chest — a box
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. content — happy
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. file — a tool
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. dip — to sink
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. track — a song
  16. chest — of your body
  17. file — a line of people
  18. content — the amount
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. spell — letters
  21. chest — of your body
  22. track — a path
  23. spell — magic
  24. file — a document

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