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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. track — a path
  6. staff — a stick
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pop — soda
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. pop — music
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. content — happy
  13. spring — of water
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pop — to visit
  16. staff — employees
  17. spring — the season
  18. plane — a tool
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wound — an injury
  21. track — a song
  22. staff — employees
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — of a tree

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