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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. saw — the tool
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. hand — help
  7. file — a tool
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — of the year
  12. kid — to tease
  13. hand — in cards
  14. saw — the tool
  15. kid — child
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. content — the amount

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