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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. cell — in biology
  4. mate — a friend
  5. content — happy
  6. march — the month
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. rush — hurry
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. mate — to breed
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. march — music
  15. file — a line of people
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. mate — a partner
  23. march — the month
  24. cell — a phone

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