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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tube — a container
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — happy
  13. roll — a list
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — an illness
  18. tear — from crying
  19. roll — a cake
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. tear — to rip
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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