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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: chip · bay · season · stem · cold · content · track · toast

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a path
  5. season — in sport
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. content — the amount
  8. track — a song
  9. season — of the year
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. toast — bread
  13. cold — an illness
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. chip — to eat
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. content — happy
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. chip — for betting
  24. cold — not warm

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