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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 120 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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. stand — to bear
  3. file — a line of people
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. can — a tin
  6. game — a match
  7. can — to be able to
  8. content — happy
  9. content — the amount
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. game — wild animals
  15. file — a tool
  16. object — an aim
  17. file — a document
  18. can — a tin
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fork — in a road
  21. object — a thing
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. fork — to eat with

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