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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. net — in sport
  4. track — a song
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. track — to keep track
  7. mark — a grade
  8. ground — crushed
  9. net — for catching
  10. ground — a position
  11. capital — money
  12. net — after costs
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — happy
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. track — a path
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. capital — a city
  23. file — a line of people
  24. mark — to pay attention

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