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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 116 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mate — a friend
  3. row — to paddle
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bass — the fish
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. track — a song
  8. track — a path
  9. track — to keep track
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mate — a partner
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — hasty
  18. content — happy
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. row — a line
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bass — low music
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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