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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.

Make a worksheet

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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. content — the amount
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. file — a line of people
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. file — a document
  11. content — happy
  12. mate — a partner
  13. file — a tool
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mate — to breed

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