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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — to keep track
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. capital — money
  6. track — a song
  7. can — a tin
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. fall — the season
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. perch — the fish
  12. content — the amount
  13. fall — to drop
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. can — to be able to
  17. shower — to wash
  18. can — a tin
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. content — happy
  21. fall — to drop
  22. shower — rain
  23. capital — a city
  24. pitch — completely

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