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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. chip — for betting
  5. chest — of your body
  6. track — to keep track
  7. wind — moving air
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wind — moving air
  10. content — happy
  11. tear — from crying
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — of the year
  15. content — the amount
  16. tear — to rip
  17. track — a song
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chest — a box
  24. mark — a trace

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