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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. root — of a word
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bank — of a river
  6. cold — not warm
  7. file — a tool
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. track — to keep track
  10. content — the amount
  11. chest — of your body
  12. band — a ring
  13. track — a path
  14. chest — of your body
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. root — the cause
  17. chest — a box
  18. bank — for money
  19. band — a music group
  20. bank — for money
  21. content — happy
  22. root — of a plant
  23. cold — an illness
  24. track — a song

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