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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. cap — a hat
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. track — a song
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. last — finally
  9. cap — a lid
  10. net — for catching
  11. content — happy
  12. band — a ring
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — all right
  15. net — after costs
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. last — to go on
  18. content — the amount
  19. net — in sport
  20. sharp — clever
  21. band — a music group
  22. track — a path
  23. cap — of ice
  24. last — final

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