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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. track — a path
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. roll — a cake
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. track — a song
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. spell — letters
  12. cap — a lid
  13. rest — what's left
  14. roll — a list
  15. cap — of ice
  16. spell — magic
  17. cap — a hat
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. track — to keep track
  24. content — the amount

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