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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. content — the amount
  3. firm — a company
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. firm — decided
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. spring — the season
  11. track — to keep track
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. field — for sport
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. spring — of water
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. track — a path
  19. content — happy
  20. field — farmland
  21. firm — steady
  22. spring — a coil
  23. field — a subject
  24. wave — of the sea

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