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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. object — an aim
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cap — of ice
  12. tube — a container
  13. object — a thing
  14. tube — the underground
  15. file — a document
  16. object — to protest
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cap — a hat
  19. file — a tool
  20. pound — a weight
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cap — a lid
  24. file — a line of people

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