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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 124 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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. cold — an illness
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. branch — a division
  7. cold — not warm
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pop — music
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cell — a phone
  13. content — happy
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pop — to visit
  16. ground — the earth
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. content — the amount
  21. cell — in biology
  22. ground — a position
  23. pop — soda
  24. cold — the Cold War

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