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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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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: clip · track · board · shower · lean · content · pitcher · pop

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. lean — to bend
  6. pop — music
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. board — to get on
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. clip — to cut
  11. content — happy
  12. content — the amount
  13. track — a song
  14. board — a committee
  15. pop — soda
  16. shower — rain
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. track — a path
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. shower — to wash
  22. lean — thin
  23. pop — to visit
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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