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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. ground — the earth
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bound — certain
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bound — tied together
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — happy
  15. stem — to come from
  16. track — a song
  17. track — to keep track
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. kid — to tease
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. kid — child
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bound — obliged
  24. ground — a position

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