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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bear · content · bat · lash · track · chair · prune · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. chair — a leader
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. track — a path
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. land — a country
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. track — to keep track
  13. prune — to trim
  14. content — happy
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bat — the animal
  17. content — the amount
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. land — ground
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. track — a song

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