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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 124 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rush — hurry
  3. track — a path
  4. scale — in music
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. capital — money
  7. content — the amount
  8. mate — a partner
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. mate — to breed
  12. track — to keep track
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. dip — to sink
  17. rest — a break
  18. mate — a friend
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. track — a song
  24. content — happy

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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